Directed By Clay Tarver

Starring – John Cena, Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji

The Plot – Marcus (Howery) lands an all-expenses-paid trip to a Caribbean resort, and he and his wife, Emily (Orji), invite their uninhibited besties, Ron (Cena) and Kyla (Meredith Hagner). But when Kyla’s incarcerated father (Steve Buscemi) is released from San Quentin and shows up, things get out of control.

Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual references and drug use

Vacation Friends 2 | Official Trailer | 20th Century Studios – YouTube

POSITIVES

The heart and soul of this franchise continues to be its ensemble, which persevere in prominence throughout a lack of material that does them little favors along the way. This is most especially the case with Cena, who once more commits his all to Ron in ways that not only vividly illustrate the character’s care free attitude towards life, but also the abundance of personality in charisma that continues to make the character such a delight to bask in. Cena’s character feels like the one justifiable instance of exploiting this second chapter, as his character zeroes in on some refreshingly unexplored directions of personal insecurity that affords us new shades of dimension with the character. Howery is also once more his perfect straight man, with a boisterously energetic manner of reactions to crazily unpredictable situations that truly flesh out some undesirably dire situations. And finally, Carlos Santos is along for the ride in a much bigger capacity than his original turn, supplanting sharply stinging sincerity to dialogue that was always a pleasure to momentarily indulge in, while emanating an element of cool factor to his simplistic approach. Beyond the performances, the scope and scale of this sequel feels much bigger than its predecessor, with not only an entirety of the engagement paid towards the beautifully scenic splendor of island imagery, but also a tonal diversity during the second half that has it slowly deviating away from the similarities of that first movie. As previously hinted at, “Vacation Friends 2” does become an action comedy of sorts, with enclosing antagonists and stakes doubling down on the vulnerabilities of its protagonists, but beyond that a couple of set pieces do inscribe some momentary tension and urgency to the proceedings that always kept me interested, in turn refusing to rest on the laurels of its wacky comedy renderings, which feel heavily exploited by the film’s midway point. Lastly, while the script is plagued with predictability and problematic execution, which I will highlight in a second, it does make two key decisions in remaining true to itself and its surrounding franchise thus far. The first is in the unraveling of the narrative, which wastes little time catching us up not only on the characters, but also in their surrounding circumstances coming into this sequel. The other is its fearless approach to R-rated material, which feels geared more especially towards adults this time around, with a far greater dependability on vulgarity, as well as gross-out humor, which isn’t always my thing, but does place our characters in the elements of unpredictability, which ultimately define them.

NEGATIVES

Unfortunately, “Vacation Friends 2” is another example of why comedy sequels rarely work, beginning with a screenplay by Tarver that feels a bit forceful in its approach to comedic punchlines and obvious set-ups. During the first half of the film, the material does play similarly to that first film, with Marcus aiming to impress someone he deeply admires, Ron and Kayla making his life a living hell, and the backdrop of an exotic island setting the stage for hilariosity. However, this time around that formula has run the creative well dry, focusing more dependably on unlikely situations and crudely nasty vulgarity, which completely sacrifices the hearty element that made that first film endearingly charming. This is my single biggest issue with “Vacation Friends 2”, because the characters are taken on a life-threatening journey, but none of their evolutions ever feel earned or tangible in the depths of their various interactions, as especially is the case with Ron and Kayla’s father practically mirroring a “Meet the Parents” kind of arc that stunk of saturated predictability. It’s bad enough that this script feels forcefully bloated while trying to cement a story arc for each of its characters, but it’s even worse when the film promises so much on the climax, but delivers so little in finality, earning a weightlessly consequence-free enveloping that proves how little creative meat was left on the bone of an already devoured feast. Never mind the fact that the film transcends through an enormous plot convenience, in that Buscemi’s character somehow knew where and when Ron and Kyla were on vacation. On top of the script, the technical componenets bare a far more enhanced indulgence this time around, but with the kind of underwhelming results that bring more annoyance than enjoyment. The musical score here meanders with the kind of on-the-nose instrumentals that feel borrowed from a television sitcom, and the inclusion of some computer-generated special effects during two key sequences feel about as naturally believable as a unicorn flying through the desert, with movements and impact that are every bit jarring as they are unintentionally hilarious. Likewise, the addition of Buscemi doesn’t exactly conjure anything lasting or integral to the proceedings, especially since the material doesn’t afford him access of standing out in any kind of way other than a one-dimensional sleezeball, to which he has made a career out of. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the film’s material rarely wields effectiveness in the depths of its gags, to produce any consistency of laughter for the long-term. As to where the first built cleverness among irony, this inferior sequel instead is loudly boisterous and on-the-nose with its direction and gags, leading to punchlines that we can easily sniff out from miles away, all the while diminishing the returns from anyone outside of Cena or Howery, who themselves are blessed with precision among comedic timing.

OVERALL
“Vacation Friends 2” is everything that its cleverly sincere and vastly superior predecessor isn’t, in that it’s limited on laughter, prominent with predictability, and stumped in its search to justify its existence. Though Cena and friends are still a rampantly raunchy good time in small doses, the humor rudely withers away the heart, resulting in another underwhelming comedy sequel that proves less is always more.

My Grade: 4/10 or D-