The Greatest Beer Run Ever: Film Review
Given such a trivial title, you’d be forgiven for thinking The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a silly viral video. But it’s not! Surprisingly, it is a comedy-drama set in the Vietnam War. Yes, you read that correctly!
The film, set in 1967, stars Zac Efron as John ‘Chickie’ Donohue, a Merchant Marine at home in New York while his close pals are fighting in Vietnam. One night, he drunkenly suggests going over there to give the boys his support and a beer. After his idea ignites hope within the community, he realises he can’t back out and sets off on a boat to Saigon with his bag of beer.
This sounds like a ludicrous concept for a film, right? Nobody in their right mind would go to a warzone to deliver beer! Well, it actually happened and the real Donohue wrote a book about his adventures. He was supremely naive and had no idea what he was getting himself into. He buys into the propaganda shown on TV assuring people the war isn’t so bad and assumes that he can easily visit each of his friends’ bases and get back to Saigon before his boat leaves.
The film is quite light-hearted in the beginning because that’s how Chickie views his adventure but his eyes are soon opened to the horrors of the war and it’s not a fun jaunt anymore. He transforms from being pro-war and a President Johnson supporter to a sceptic uncertain if the war is necessary. Chickie witnesses some awful acts that serve as a sobering wake-up call for him and there are a couple of moving moments depicting distraught Vietnamese people that really got to me.
Despite this, it doesn’t feel bleak or gritty, even when Chickie is caught up in warfare in Saigon. Peter Farrelly – who blended comedy and drama well with Green Book – struggles to find the right tone for this movie and it feels uneven and muddled. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be feeling and I had trouble engaging with it at times. Plus, I didn’t like how the biggest Vietnamese character, Oklahoma (Kevin K. Tran), was treated and Chickie’s bag of beers should have seemed much heavier!
I feel like Efron is trying to prove himself as a serious dramatic actor but unfortunately, this project doesn’t manage that. He was fine – although Chickie’s distinctive New York account came and went – but I’m sure another actor would have shown the horror of war on his face in a more believable, moving way. Russell Crowe is good value in his brief appearance as photojournalist Arthur and Bill Murray pops up as a low-key bartender, The Colonel.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever isn’t completely sure what it wants to be. The second half is more engrossing than the frivolous beer-giving portion but it doesn’t completely save this mixed bag.
On AppleTV+ from Friday 30th September