Vacation Friends is a new adult comedy that premiered on the Star service on the Disney + platform. Is it worth watching?
Everything you need to know about Vacation Friends is in the trailer. This is a very representative announcement, so there are no surprises here. So if the trailer didn't make you laugh, the whole movie won't. We get exactly what it announces, only the final product is even more obvious and schematic. We have a banal story that offers the same as a plethora of adult comedies: drugs, alcohol, and profanity instead of a comma. As could be expected - what was supposed to amuse viewers is more often embarrassing. The whole structure gives you the feeling that we've only seen it all in better form, with a script and gags that can make you laugh. The whole thing resembles a production written by a man in a suit who has mastered Excel to perfection, but there is no creativity, passion or heart. Supposedly, everything in the comedy for adults is in place, and nothing can arouse the viewer. When every gag is repeating patterns over and over, it gets boring over time.
John Cena loves to play in comedies like this, and one thing's for sure: he definitely had a great time on the set. From the viewer's perspective, however, it all blends into a chaotic whole, because in such productions Cena seems to be playing the same character all the time. It is also not entirely a criticism, because as an actor he clearly feels like a fish in the water in such a convention, so he creates characteristic characters. The same can't be said for the rest of the cast and their plots: boring, obvious, bland and stereotypical. Here we have a range of nondescript characters straight out of comedy schemes - headed by a father-in-law who doesn't like the main character. The actors try to get as much out of this madness as they can, but nothing comes of it. We have weirdness for the sake of weirdness, and not to entertain, entertain, or to push this story forward.
The strangest thing is how at some point the creators suddenly take on more serious tones in the relationship between the two main characters. The story of the character Cena, who regains vigor thanks to a new friend, was supposed to show in this chaos a bad joke, a message about the power of friendship. Only this fits the whole convention of adult vulgar comedy as much as a fist to the nose. It is a thread from the cap that strikes the rhythm in the climax, which, despite its obviousness, never hits emotional tones well.
Vacation Friends is a painful cliché that does not even offer decent entertainment. A banal American adult comedy that causes more embarrassment than laughter. Everything from the ruler to be vulgar and dirty, but unfortunately without heart and humor. And it's not really about the secret sense of humor on the screen, because you also have to be able to show it well. It's a waste of our time.
