In Vacation Friends 2, Ron and Kyla join Marcus and Emily on a trip to a Caribbean resort. Their vacation takes a dangerous turn once Kyla’s father shows up. The movie is now streaming on Hulu.
Story
Marcus has landed an all-expenses-paid trip to a Caribbean resort. He and Emily have invited Kyla and Ron to join them. Maurillio is coming too, as he will be taking care of little Marcus while the rest of them enjoy.
Marcus and Emily begin the trip by breaking the news that they are going to try to have a baby. At the same time, apart from enjoying the vacation, Marcus has another goal.
Marcus is going to have an interview with the CEO of Kim Wae Group, Mrs. Kim. She owns the hotel they will be staying at. The interview is about building a similar hotel like this in Chicago.
Marcus can’t have Kyla and Ron anywhere near Mrs. Kim. He has everything planned, but nothing goes accordingly. He gets lost in enjoying his vacation and misses updates on his meeting with Mrs. Kim.
If that’s not enough, Kyla’s father crashes their vacation. While Marcus tries to keep everyone away from the employees of the Kim Wae Group, Ron seeks his father-in-law’s approval, who is up to some shady business.
Performances
The lead cast retains its performance from the first film. It feels like they never left their characters’ personalities. The cast is able to show how much the friendship between their characters has grown. Marcus and Emily, especially, have accepted Ron and Kyla for who they are.
John Cena had to switch gears this time and is in the kind of situation Lil Rel Howery’s character was in the first film. John Cena portrays Ron, a carefree jock who tries to be nice to everyone.
When he faces his father-in-law, he loses some of his spirit, and Cena is able to capture that insecurity as the viewers see him in the back from time to time.
Steve Buscemi, as Reese, is a decent addition. He plays a character just like Kyla, but Buscemi makes sure nobody likes Reese whenever he disrespects Ron and causes everyone trouble.
Positives
Vacation Friends 2 continues to capture the same magic as the first film in the series did in the opening minutes. It’s still a goofy comedy concerning the crazy situations the lead characters find themselves in.
The viewers will get comfortable as they learn what their favorite characters are up to and the next adventure or goal they are chasing. The movie also continues to show the beauty of the locations it is set in and always comes up with situations that will keep the film fun.
Negatives
Vacation Friends 2 turns into an action comedy by the second half. The transition feels abrupt and odd. The first film was an enjoyable adventure comedy with characters pulling crazy stunts. The guns and drug dealers thrown in in this second installment aren’t satisfying.
The film tried to be bigger this time. In an attempt to do so, many subplots were brought in that didn’t get their due time. There is not much about Little Marcus. Maurillio’s subplot is random, and it feels like Emily has a subplot just because the creators wanted her to have one.
Verdict
The cast of Vacation Friends 2 will bring viewers back to the film and make them stay till the end. However, the strange transition the film goes through and the overstuffed subplots don’t offer as many laughs as they should.
