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The Greatest Beer Run Ever Reviews

Its emotional core is hollow, the humor misses as often as it hits, and it leaves you with nothing new to think about.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Nov 2, 2024

In The Greatest Beer Run Ever, [war] sort of is made for television. The filmmakers try to have their PBR-flavored cake and eat it too—and that just doesn’t fly in a movie about the lies and deception of mass murder that was Vietnam.

Full Review | Jul 16, 2024

Like the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer that it shills, The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a watered-down, unwelcome assault on the senses, unfit for consumption by anyone with working taste buds.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 3, 2024

In its two-hour runtime, the drama makes you chuckle and cry in equal measure, and all credits go to the writers for the characterisation of the protagonist, and to Zac Efron and Russell Crowe’s performances.

Full Review | Nov 20, 2023

Never mind that the Pabst Blue Ribbon Chickie carries throughout The Greatest Beer Run Ever has got to be the warmest in history. It symbolizes the character’s resolve and pride in what he believes is a nice gesture of goodwill.

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

Farrelly's screenplays present characters as surface-level and Efron doesn't have the dramatic range to try and create a character out of an archetype.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jul 16, 2023

Further proof that Farrelly did better, more charming work when he ballasted his soft side with raunch.

Full Review | May 2, 2023

It’ll get you acquainted with a guy who didn’t think impossible was a thing. It’s a detached joy to watch a movie where a character does something you would never dare do, and later find out that it really happened.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Feb 9, 2023

The Greatest Beer Run Ever gets so close to being a good movie but is held back by weak dialogue and never quite just saying what it means to be saying about war, masculinity, politics, or otherwise.

Full Review | Original Score: 6.5/10 | Jan 4, 2023

…has a jarring mix of tones to play with as it fuses comic macho braggadocio with the fog of war, but Peter Farrelly’s the right man for the job and just about pulls it off…

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 2, 2023

Ultimately, The Greatest Beer Run Ever leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth. It doesn’t have anything meaningful to say about the war and offers a surface-level exploration of the character of Chickie.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 19, 2022

What an unbelievable story, but truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction. Efron displays such an earnest quality that makes the character’s inherent foolishness endearing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 3, 2022

Farrelly seems to have thought Beer Run would float along on its frothy premise, punctuated by the occasional explosion of wartime violence. Instead, the film stumbles tipsily along, from lamp post to lamp post, uncertain of its way home.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 26, 2022

[It's] is fueled equally by its far-fetched silliness and its growing sense of sadness -- if not outrage -- over the war’s toll. Toss in a couple of fine supporting performances... and you’ve got a film that will stand up under repeated viewings.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Oct 20, 2022

Imagine watching Born on the Fourth of July without the drama and Good Morning, Vietnam with the comedy and that roughly sums up this poorly calculated tale.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Oct 16, 2022

It's sort of meandering and well-meaning, but the tone never quite settled on what it's supposed to be.

Full Review | Oct 14, 2022

Tonally shifty, overlong, repetitive and as history simplistic, but well-made and an interesting effort to reach across the aisle from the socially liberal to the socially conservative.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 13, 2022

Every potential moment of clarity is interrupted by a knee-jerk swerve to the inane, as if Farrelly is uncomfortable with anything resembling discomfort or ambiguity. It’s all very well-intentioned and good-natured, but to what end?

Full Review | Oct 13, 2022

Efron is very good in this movie that is undecided as to whether or not it is a comedy or a drama.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Oct 11, 2022

In view of the absurd setting and the talent gathered, one expected more.

Full Review | Oct 11, 2022

Supported by

‘The Greatest Beer Run Ever’ Review: Vietnam on the Rocks

Zac Efron plays a man trying to deliver brewskis to his Vietnam War buddies in Peter Farrelly’s film.

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By Amy Nicholson

In the early winter of 1968, the 26-year-old civilian Chickie Donohue arrived in Vietnam with a duffel bag of brewskis and an errand that could be reasonably called idiotic, patronizing, suicidal — and, even, as this shaggily appealing comedy insists, “The Greatest Beer Run Ever.” Donohue (Zac Efron) has been double dog dared by his drinking buddies back home in Inwood, then a working-class Irish neighborhood in Manhattan, to hand-deliver a beer to four of their buddies serving in the war. “A sudsy thank you card!” Donohue exclaims, delighted by his own moxie. His farcical mission is mostly true and just the sort of crowd-pleaser about lunkhead enlightenment that intoxicates the director Peter Farrelly in the wake of his Oscar for “Green Book.”

Farrelly and his co-writers, Brian Currie and Pete Jones, see the national id reflected in Donohue’s patriotic, ill-reasoned rationale for his quest, which is clearly a few cans short of a, you know. To this layabout slacker, his blustering pals and their jingoistic barkeep, the Colonel (Bill Murray, near-invisible under a gruff flattop), a pull-tab of domestic ale supports the troops by reminding the fighters abroad that America reigns supreme. For a while, Farrelly feigns to agree; the film starts like a Super Bowl commercial and ends like a hangover.

When Donohue sets sail for Saigon, public opinion supports the conflict, an innocence Efron embodies by hitchhiking toward the front with a schmucky grin affixed like a shield. (Grunts one soldier, “Every once in a while, you run into a guy who’s too dumb to get killed.”) But by the time Donohue returns home, the Tet offensive — which he witnesses — will have turned the majority of Americans against the war, including him. After all, if a dingbat like him is able to bluff his way past officers to get to the battlefield, things are not under control.

The script is grounded in Donohue’s memoir of the same name (written with J.T. Molloy) and captures his bravado. (“I was a four-star general when it came to slinging BS,” he writes.) While the film makes his onscreen portrayal more oblivious, it backs his claim to have seen a United States tank blow a hole in the wall of its own embassy, only to later blame the blast on the Viet Cong.

A local traffic cop (Kevin K. Tran) and hard-living photojournalist (Russell Crowe with a brusque, sleeves-rolled-up cynicism) are invented amalgamations of the many people who stepped in to save Donohue’s neck. (If pressed, the movie would rather label its protagonist a dangerous distraction over a hero.) To heighten the tension — as well as extend empathy toward the Vietnamese villagers — Farrelly also concocts a scene where Donohue is forced to hide in the jungle from his own countrymen.

A few horrors are embellished from the book, particularly those that inspire the cinematographer Sean Porter to shoot in dramatic slow motion: a herd of napalmed elephants, a prisoner plummeting headfirst from a helicopter, a wounded soldier backlit by flames. Otherwise, the film’s style is, like its subject, stubbornly chipper (albeit with a marvelous psychedelic rock soundtrack that pulls from lesser-known acts like The Electric Prunes). Depth comes from Efron’s visible difficulty maintaining a smile as he comes to sense that he’s crossed the ocean only to discover a permanent gulf between him and his childhood friends. They’ve endured agonies he’ll never understand — and a barfly like him can’t deliver a cheers that will set things right.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever Rated R for language and violence. Running time: 2 hours 6 minutes. In theaters.

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Parents' guide to, the greatest beer run ever.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever Movie: Poster

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 4 Reviews
Kids Say 2 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Drinking, violence, few laughs in fact-based Vietnam story.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Guns and shooting on battlefields. Characters are shot at. Explosions. Person sh

Frequent use of "f--k," "s--t," "bulls--t," "dumbs--t," "bats--t," "p---y," "t-t

Pabst Blue Ribbon is the beer of choice: It's shown throughout the movie, labels

Alcohol and drinking are part of the story; characters regularly hang out in bar

Brief sexual reference.

Any Positive Content?

Very earnestly supports the troops and those who serve while also asserting that

Chickie's plan isn't the most brilliant or memorable -- or even useful -- thing

Revolves almost entirely around White men. Some characters of color appear in sm

Parents need to know that The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a dramedy based on the true story of Merchant Marine Chickie Donohue ( Zac Efron ), who, in 1967, traveled to Vietnam to bring beer to his military buddies. It means well, but it's a bit heavy-handed. Expect to see war violence, with guns and shooting, explosions, bloody wounds, a severed arm, a man thrown to his death from a helicopter, punching, fighting, slapping, etc. Death is discussed. Language is strong and frequent, with uses of "f--k," "s--t," "p---y," "bitch," and more, and there's brief sex-related dialogue. Alcohol and drinking are prevalent; drinking is shown to be fun and relaxing, with no consequences shown or discussed. Pabst Blue Ribbon is the beer of choice, and its label and logo are seen throughout. Characters also smoke cigarettes and, briefly, pot.

To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Violence & Scariness

Guns and shooting on battlefields. Characters are shot at. Explosions. Person shoved out of helicopter falls to their death. Characters' arm blown off in explosion. Bloody wounds. Death is discussed in a real-world way. Brief punching, fighting. Parent slaps child. Arguing.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent use of "f--k," "s--t," "bulls--t," "dumbs--t," "bats--t," "p---y," "t-ts," "twat," "a--hole," "son of a bitch," "goddamn," "ass," "bastard," "hell," "for God's sake," "Christ's sake," "scumbags," "balls." "Jesus" and "Christ" used as exclamations.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Pabst Blue Ribbon is the beer of choice: It's shown throughout the movie, labels clearly visible. It's also prominently seen in the advertising materials.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Alcohol and drinking are part of the story; characters regularly hang out in bars and drink. Drinking is portrayed as fun, with no consequences. Characters drink mostly beer, but also some whiskey. Occasional cigarette smoking. Character smokes pot in background.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Very earnestly supports the troops and those who serve while also asserting that war is bad. Occasionally raises questions about how war should be depicted in the media -- i.e., not at all, sugarcoated, or brutal and real. Raises questions about reasons for war, whether to trust authority figures.

Positive Role Models

Chickie's plan isn't the most brilliant or memorable -- or even useful -- thing that ever happened, but he certainly accomplishes what he sets out to do, and it's ultimately a selfless act that's designed to lift the spirits of others.

Diverse Representations

Revolves almost entirely around White men. Some characters of color appear in small or background roles. The main character's sister is a passionate woman with agency. The few other female characters are mainly traditional mothers.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (4)
Kids say (2)

Based on 4 parent reviews

They are not forgotten!

What's the story.

In THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER, it's 1967 in New York City, and Merchant Marine Chickie Donohue ( Zac Efron ) and his friends are dismayed at how many of their friends have been killed in Vietnam. Chickie's sister, Christine ( Ruby Ashbourne Serkis ), has been participating in anti-war protests, but Chickie feels that this disrespects the troops. While drinking in his favorite bar, which is manned by The Colonel ( Bill Murray ), Chickie concocts a plan to board the next ship bound for Vietnam and bring all of his still-living military buddies a beer. Once there, with dumb luck, persistence, and help from a crusty reporter named Coates ( Russell Crowe ), Chickie tries to pull off his wild idea. But actually being in a war zone opens his eyes, too.

Is It Any Good?

This dramedy could have been much funnier, but it falls back on wobbly writing and on overly sincere, one-note sermons about war and service. "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard of," one character says of Chickie's plan in The Greatest Beer Run Ever , but, as directed by comedy veteran Peter Farrelly , the movie somehow fails to capture that tone. Perhaps it cares too much, since it returns again and again to the noble reason for Chickie's journey, which is supporting the troops and "buying those boys a beer." If the movie had been a little more carefree, a little more anarchic, perhaps it might have generated some laughs. ( Bill Murray 's character in Stripes wouldn't even recognize his character here.)

Perhaps the lead role was a bit much for Efron. His acting chops have marginally improved since his early days, and he can now convincingly play a dramatic scene, but he maybe doesn't quite have the comic timing that a number of other actors would have provided. Or perhaps Farrelly was afraid of offending people by showing any kind of portrayal of the military that could be seen as negative, while still wanting to assert that "war is hell." That could be why the movie seems so pleasant, without being really engaging. Ultimately, while it's hard to hate The Greatest Beer Run Ever , it's just more flat than it is sudsy.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about The Greatest Beer Run Ever 's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

How are alcohol and drinking depicted? Are they glamorized? Are there consequences? Why is that important?

Is it important for the media to show the truth of war, or should people be protected from it?

Do you consider Chickie a role model ? Is this a selfless act? What does he ultimately achieve?

Movie Details

In theaters : September 23, 2022
On DVD or streaming : September 30, 2022
Cast : Zac Efron , Russell Crowe , Bill Murray
Director : Peter Farrelly
Studio : Apple TV+
Genre : Drama
Run time : 127 minutes
MPAA rating : R
MPAA explanation : language and some war violence
Last updated : February 17, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

Good Morning, Vietnam

Want personalized picks for your kids' age and interests?

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Goofy comedy movies to watch with tweens and teens, drama movies that tug at the heartstrings.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

IMAGES

Movie Review : The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022)
The Greatest Beer Run Ever Review
The Greatest Beer Run Ever Review: Unexpectedly Good
Review: The Greatest Beer Run Ever' recounts war story that's stranger
The Greatest Beer Run Ever Review: Zac Efron Shines In This War Film
THE GREATEST BEER RUN EVER Parents Guide Movie Review