Seeking out the
5000 greatest films
in a century of cinema
The Greatest Beer Run Ever
Directed by
Peter Farrelly
Produced by Don Granger, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Jake Myers, and Andrew Muscato
Screenplay by Peter Farrelly, Brian Currie, and Pete Jones Based on the book by John "Chickie" Donohue and Joanna Molloy
Produced by Don Granger, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Jake Myers, and Andrew Muscato
Screenplay by Peter Farrelly, Brian Currie, and Pete Jones Based on the book by John "Chickie" Donohue and Joanna Molloy
With:
Zac Efron, Russell Crowe, Bill Murray, Kyle Allen, Jake Picking, Will Ropp, Archie Renaux, Christopher Reed Brown, Joe Adler, MacGregor Arney, Hal Cumpston, Kristin Carey, Paul Adelstein, Shirleyann Kaladjian, Kevin K. Tran, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, and Omari K. Chancellor
Cinematography:
Sean Porter
Editing: Patrick J. Don Vito
Music: Dave Palmer
Editing: Patrick J. Don Vito
Music: Dave Palmer
Runtime:
126 min
Release Date: 30 September 2022
Aspect Ratio: 2.00 : 1
Color: Color
Release Date: 30 September 2022
Aspect Ratio: 2.00 : 1
Color: Color
Peter Farley follows up his Oscar-winning Green Book with another issue-oriented true story from an earlier era about a (debatably) lovable lunkhead who goes on a road trip and comes to “learn deep values.” This time, the trip is a solo adventure and covers a bit more distance than the American South. Chickie Donohue (played by game but miscast Zac Efron) was an idle twenty-something merchant mariner in the late '60s who, like many of his family and friends who hung at the local bar, was angry at the American media's negative coverage of the Vietnam War and the hippy protesters disrespecting the troops. When asked by his peacenik sister asked what he was doing to support the soldiers fighting an ill-conceived foreign war, Chickie decides to hop a cargo ship to the frontlines and bring all his neighborhood buddies serving in Vietnam some Pabst Blue Ribbon from home.
It's a fun real-life premise, with some great specific details—like how everyone assumes the foolish Chickie must be CIA based on the way he dresses and presents himself. But like far too many “based on a true story” pictures, the movie feels inauthentic and simplistic. Filmmakers often seem to think that if their story is based on fact they have a license to tell a contrived narrative that rings hollow or even false. They fall back on the “but that actually happened,” excuse; though, of course, even if all the movie's events really occurred they never "actually happened" the way a compressed, fictionalized feature film with actors depicts them. It's the director's responsibility to create fabrication that feels credible and truthful no matter how outlandish the material may be.
It's too bad a studio didn't make The Greatest Beer Run Ever with a big star in the mid-80s or early 90s during the height of Vietnam pictures of all genres. In that case, I think this simplistic story of a slacker patriot who has his eyes opened after spending a few days “in the shit” learning what war is really about, it would have gone over like gangbusters. But, as with Green Book, Farley is at least three decades too late to tackle such multi-layered subject matter in such a narrow and incurious manner.
It's a fun real-life premise, with some great specific details—like how everyone assumes the foolish Chickie must be CIA based on the way he dresses and presents himself. But like far too many “based on a true story” pictures, the movie feels inauthentic and simplistic. Filmmakers often seem to think that if their story is based on fact they have a license to tell a contrived narrative that rings hollow or even false. They fall back on the “but that actually happened,” excuse; though, of course, even if all the movie's events really occurred they never "actually happened" the way a compressed, fictionalized feature film with actors depicts them. It's the director's responsibility to create fabrication that feels credible and truthful no matter how outlandish the material may be.
It's too bad a studio didn't make The Greatest Beer Run Ever with a big star in the mid-80s or early 90s during the height of Vietnam pictures of all genres. In that case, I think this simplistic story of a slacker patriot who has his eyes opened after spending a few days “in the shit” learning what war is really about, it would have gone over like gangbusters. But, as with Green Book, Farley is at least three decades too late to tackle such multi-layered subject matter in such a narrow and incurious manner.