Movie: Vacation Friends (2021) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Vacation Friends

Came out; 2021

Time; 1 hours 43 minutes

Watched: Hulu

Rated: R for drug content, crude sexual references and language throughout

IMDB Rating; 6.3/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Lil Rel Howery as Marcus

Yvonne Orji as Emily

John Cena as Ron

Meredith Hagneer as Kyla

Robert Wisdom as Harold

Lynn Whitefield as Suzanne

Andrew Bachelor as Gabe

Story Line.

In this raw and raunchy comedy, strait-laced Marcus and Emily (Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji) are befriended by wild, thrill-seeking partiers Ron and Kyla (John Cena, Meredith Hagner) at a resort in Mexico. Living in the moment, the usually level-headed couple lets loose to enjoy a week of uninhibited fun and debauchery with their new "vacation friends." Months after their walk on the wild side, Marcus and Emily are horrified when Ron and Kyla show up uninvited at their wedding, creating chaos and proving that what happens on vacation, doesn't necessarily stay on vacation.

Thoughts:

I saw a preview for the 2^nd movie and then found this one! I wasn't familiar with this, but I am so glad I took the time to watch it!

First, when things “go wrong” on vacation in movies, like how this one starts out, I cringe a little because it rarely happens. If it does happen generally the people are taken care of!

This was a super funny movie; I wasn't sure where it was going to go until they got together for their wedding, and it did not disappoint!

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

The film opens as a couple, Marcus (Lil Rel Howery) and Emily (Yvonne Orji) arrive in Mexico for a romantic getaway. Marcus is a bit neurotic as he wants to propose to Emily and wants everything to go right. When they arrive at the hotel, they find their room has been flooded because the couple in the presidential suite above them overflowed their Jacuzzi.

Marcus tries to get another room, but the concierge Maurillio (Carlos Santos) can only find them a crappy Best Western hotel room nearby. To make things worse, Maurillio lets it slip that Marcus was trying to propose. Left with no choice, Marcus proposes to Emily on the spot, and she accepts. Cheering them on is another couple, Ron (John Cena) and Kyla (Meredith Hagner), who happen to be the couple in the presidential suite. They invite Marcus and Emily to stay with them, and despite some reluctance, they go along with it.

The two couples get together in the suite, where Ron and Kyla give Marcus and Emily margaritas. Only after they drink it do they learn that the "salt" around the rim of the glass was actually cocaine. Later, Marcus and Emily want to go on a whale watching tour, only to find that the boat for it is packed with tourists. Ron and Kyla invite them to go out on their own boat, so they head out and Ron lets Marcus steer the boat. Unfortunately, Marcus doesn't see rocks ahead of them and the boat flips over. The four are airlifted out of there, and while Marcus wants to repay Ron for the boat, he and Kyla thought the experience was awesome as opposed to regular old sailing.

The couples spend the whole week hanging out and partying. On their last night there, the couples are out on the beach, where Ron feels that he has come to view Marcus as something of a best friend. Ron and Kyla then come up with the idea that Marcus and Emily should get married that night. They take the two to a cave where they meet a shaman that performs a Mayan ceremony to marry Marcus and Emily. Afterward, the two couples jump off the cliff into the ocean. They go back to the hotel room for more drugs and drinking, and Marcus passes out seeing Kyla on top of him, thanking him for the experience.

The next morning, Marcus and Emily are super hungover and head over to the airport to catch their flight. When they arrive, Ron and Kyla are already there just hanging out, making inappropriate jokes about Marcus and Emily as security is nearby. Ron and Kyla want to continue seeing Marcus and Emily, and they ask if they can give them their numbers, but the latter couple pretends that their phones broke, so Ron gives Marcus his business card.

Seven months later, Marcus and Emily are planning for their official wedding. Marcus, who manages a construction company, finds that his employees have gotten a suit for him. He laments not being able to invite them because Emily's parents want to keep it "intimate". When they arrive at the venue where the wedding will take place, Marcus is surprised to see that Emily's parents invited all of their family and other wealthy friends. Marcus has tension with her family because her father Harold (Robert Wisdom) doesn't particularly like him, and he also has issues with Emily's brother Gabe (Andrew Bachelor) because Marcus punched him in the face one time.

Later that night, Ron and Kyla come crashing through the gate of the venue and pretend to angrily confront Marcus and Emily for not inviting them, before they burst out laughing at the gag. Harold approaches them, and Ron immediately wins him over by showing that he is a former Green Beret. Harold allows Ron and Kyla to stay in the one room that was available - the presidential suite. When Marcus and Emily ask them what they are doing there all of a sudden, Kyla reveals that she is pregnant, and they imply that Marcus had a big part to play in this, and based on what he remembers from the trip, he freaks out.

The following morning, Harold invites Ron to join him and the others for a fox hunt, which doesn't actually involve hunting a fox, but rather chasing after one even though nobody has seen a fox around there in forever. Marcus and Ron go off together, where Ron shows Marcus which items to forage for food. Meanwhile, Harold expresses to Emily and Kyla that he didn't get along with his own father-in-law, and Emily notes the same thing is happening with him and Marcus. When the guys get to a special mushroom, Marcus eats it before Ron can explain that it is an extremely potent psychedelic mushroom. Marcus starts to trip balls almost instantly, so Ron eats one mushroom to help him. The two space out until Marcus is pounced on by what he believes is a fox attacking him. He nearly grabs a knife to kill it until Ron stops him to point out Harold and his group, revealing that the "fox" was actually Harold's dog playfully pouncing on Marcus. Harold tries to approach Marcus with respectful intents, but Marcus's hallucinations make him see Harold as a clown, and is unable to stop laughing. Ron steps in and saves him by saying that he knows Marcus wants nothing more than to make a good impression on Harold.

Ron later joins Marcus as they go golfing against Gabe and his buddy Bennet (Kamal Bolden), while Kyla continues to hang out with Emily and her family. Emily gets nervous because Kyla is giving "special" medicine to her Grandma Phyllis (Denise Burse), who is typically quiet and doesn't move around too much because of her condition. While on the golf course, Ron appears super drunk and they keep missing every hole they come across. In the middle of the game, Ron takes out a lot of money, which he reveals he got from pawning off Marcus and Emily's wedding rings. Marcus is livid until Ron wagers with Gabe and Bennet for all the money, plus Bennet's Ferrari. Ron pulls off an impressive swing on the last hole to get a hole in one.

The guys go to the pawnshop just before it closes, and Marcus gets the rings back. Ron sees a bird flying overhead, and because he earlier told Marcus that he knows when a bird is going to poop, he pushes Marcus out of the way just before he gets crapped on...and this causes Marcus to drop the rings down the sewer. He begins to freak out on Ron for causing all of this, and Ron starts telling Marcus that he helped Kyla conceive a child after doctors told him that he is sterile, seemingly confirming that Marcus really is the father of Kyla's child.

That night, the family hosts a party, where Marcus's construction buddies show up after being invited by Ron. Ron and Kyla then go up on stage to announce to everyone how Marcus has lent a hand in helping them have a baby. Before Kyla can finish her sentence, Marcus tries to own up to it himself and declare to everyone that he is the father of Kyla's baby after they had the drug-fueled sexual encounter. It actually turns out that this is not the case - after the couples did their cliff dive, Ron thinks that the impact the water landing had on his balls caused him to undo his infertility, and so he successfully impregnated Kyla. Emily stands up to admit that it was she who had sex with Kyla, and they were just on top of Marcus, who wasn't involved in it. Harold angrily berates Marcus, who then reveals that he lost the rings. When Gabe tries to berate him too, Marcus punches him in the face again. A brawl then breaks out between Gabe's friends and Marcus's construction buddies, and Marcus leaves dejectedly. On the way out, Ron and Kyla try to talk to Marcus and Emily, but the two of them snap at the other couple and say that they were never friends and deliberately avoided keeping in touch with them because of how crazy they are. Ron and Kyla are hurt and agree to leave.

On the morning of Marcus and Emily's wedding, the two believe that there won't be a wedding. Harold then comes in with the construction guys, all of them very drunk. Harold has loosened up and admits to Marcus that he has been hard on him, but he is willing to give him another chance, which Marcus accepts. Emily is then visited by Grandma Phyllis, who is now able to walk thanks to the medicine Kyla gave her. She gives Emily a note and gift from Kyla, which is an apology to her and Marcus for ruining their wedding, but also an admission that the two of them felt like their best friends in forever, especially because Ron's own best friend passed away and he didn't meet another guy like that until Marcus came along. In the box is the wedding rings that Ron spent all day fishing out of the sewers. Marcus and Emily feel really bad and set off to go find Ron and Kyla.

Emily remembers that Kyla mentioned she and Ron like to go to Waffle House, so she and Marcus go to multiple Waffle Houses until they eventually find Ron and Kyla. Although the two are still upset with Marcus and Emily, the latter two apologize, and Marcus kisses Ron's forehead, which he had earlier said is the ultimate sign of respect. They forgive Marcus and Emily, and they still want to name their baby after Marcus. They agree to go to the wedding on the condition that Marcus and Emily go to theirs.

Months later, Marcus and Emily return to the cave in Mexico along with both their families (and Baby Marcus) to watch Ron and Kyla get married. The couples then all jump off the cliff into the ocean again.