"Vacation Friends 2" is not a drastic drop-off from the original film, but it maintains consistency with its odd-couple dynamic. Lil Rel Howery and Yvonne Orji play the straight man/woman to John Cena and Meredith Hagner's free-spirited cannons. The two couples become besties over drunken nights in the first film. However, not everything in Mexico stays in Mexico, and the sequel premieres on Hulu almost exactly two years after its predecessor. The quartet, consisting of Marcus (Howery), Ron (Cena), Kyla (Hagner), and Maurillio (Carlos Santos), are on holiday in the Caribbean with a newborn named after Marcus. They are mixing business and pleasure, as Marcus, who owns a construction company, hopes to close a deal with a Korean hotel conglomerate. The running gags are Ron and Kyla, who sow chaos everywhere they go, from garnishing margarita glasses with cocaine to shooting empty beer bottles off each other's heads. They charm every family member and business associate Marcus and Emily (Orji) are afraid they'll make a scene in front of. Ron acknowledges that everyone likes him, and they always come through for their new BFFs when it counts. The interplay between the maniac with a heart of gold and Cena's cartoon-character energy is what makes these two movies work. Ron struggles to win over Kyla's ne'er-do-well father, Steve Buscemi, who is recently released from San Quentin and unexpectedly at the same resort as the heroes. Other drama, such as Emily's secret desire for a baby, takes precedence over the ridiculous hijinks in the sequel. The shenanigans have escalated from interrupted wedding ceremonies to shootouts with the Cuban coast guard. However, this delving into action/comedy territory distracts from the heart beneath the hijinks, which was the original's touching moments. The heart still beats here, but not as strongly as it did the first time. "Vacation Friends 2" had potential as a sequel to the original comedy, but it failed to deliver on its promise. The movie's generic team-up, featuring characters like John Cena and Meredith Hagner, was criticized for its shrill sense of humor. The characters, including Lil Rel Howery and Yvonne Orji, were on autopilot, and the shtick from Cena and Hagner became tiresome. The movie's characters, including those played by Chieng and Santos, were not flattering and instead exemplified the movie's fleeting ambitions for silliness. Clay Tarver, the sole writing credit, and the returning director, doubled down on the same gags, such as confusing loud for funny, cell phones making sounds at inopportune times, and visual jokes that went wide on the punchline and lasted only so long, minimizing their impact. This kind of comedy usually has a short shelf-life, and "Vacation Friends 2" failed to deliver on its promise.
Review of Vacation Friends 2
