Zac Efron has had an enormous career that has spanned two decades. From movie musicals (Hairspray) and comedies (Neighbors) to biographical crime dramas (Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile), Efron shows no signs of slowing down when it comes to showcasing his talent. In his latest, Efron is John “Chickie” Donohue, a young man who travels to Vietnam at the height of the war to share laughs, support, and beer with his friends who’ve enlisted. Based on a true story and adapted from John “Chickie” Donohue and Joanna Molloy’s novel of the same name, The Greatest Beer Run Ever uncovers the unfortunate realities of blindly following a country’s messages about war. The film is messy and gets tangled up in its protagonist’s folly, but in the process, Zac Efron delivers a heartfelt and killer performance.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

John “Chickie” Donohue (Zac Efron) is a 26-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran who works as a merchant seaman at the height of the Vietnam War. Torn between wanting to support his friends in the war without fighting alongside them, Chickie challenges himself to fulfill a preposterous purpose. To ensure his buddies know that there’s an entire support system cheering them on back in the U.S., Chickie decides to deliver the message himself, along with some American beers. What starts out as a well-intended journey to build morale quickly turns into a dangerous adventure as Chickie confronts this controversial war. Not only will he uncover terrible truths, but Chickie must find a way to survive in the process.

Related: Zac Efron Brings Beer To Vietnam War In Greatest Beer Run Ever Trailer

Russell Crowe and Zac Efron in The Greatest Beer Run Ever

Director Peter Farrelly may have intended for his action comedy/drama to be a heartwarming journey of self-discovery, friendship, and sacrifice, but in execution, it reveals how ignorant Americans are when it comes to the realities of war. Through Chickie Donohue, Farrelly’s script, which was written in partnership with Pete Jones and Brian Currie, plays into the machismo and toxic nature of young men when it comes to understanding war and the reasons for its existence. As a result of this framework, enduring a 126-minute-long feature with Donohue’s character at the helm becomes unbearable even after only 15 minutes into the film.

That’s not to say that a protagonist of a story needs to be likable, but in The Greatest Beer Run Ever, there are inherent problems with his portrayal with respect to the story on screen. For one, Chickie had insanely juvenile takes when it came to the Vietnam War or any protestors of it. Any opinion that differed from his was simply disregarded and frowned upon as disrespectful and unpatriotic. Yet, the audience is supposed to cheer for the success of a man who only entered Vietnam to deliver beers because he couldn’t handle a little mockery and not fight alongside his brethren in a war that he so thoroughly believed in. It’s obnoxious, and it feels like an incredibly lazy way to build in any learning opportunities for the lead — especially when the messages about serving in war become overly preachy.

Zac Efron in The Greatest Beer Run Ever

One could easily blame Efron for his portrayal of Donohue as the leading cause for such obscenely derisory elements in the script. But in reality, Efron’s heartfelt performance is what makes The Greatest Beer Run Ever watchable despite the screenplay. He gives his all when it comes to balancing both the comedy and sentimental components, but these moments shift on and off at lightning speeds. And quite frankly, it’s exhausting. That, in combination with the frustrations brought on by watching a human behave with no remorse for his stupidity and inexperience with war, is what makes the feature unenjoyable. Even after everything Donohue has seen and been through, he only ever snaps into reality seeing the lies unfold (and not the innocent Vietnamese children getting killed) before his very eyes.

As is, The Greatest Beer Run Ever has problems that extend even beyond its script. The three acts don’t feel as cohesive as they should be, the war scenery/set leaves a lot to be desired, and there’s simply no life in what could have been a vivacious feature. But that’s what happens in a film that caters to patriotism and the importance of serving one’s country over substance, truth, and saying something profound. It gives the majority of the responsibility to Zac Efron, who was clearly up for the task, without any support to convert this barely watchable war comedy into a meaningful feature that exudes heart and authenticity. It’s a sad truth for a script with so much potential.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever releases on Apple TV+ on September 30. The film is 126 minutes long and rated R for language and war violence.