The Greatest Beer Run Ever
The Greatest Beer Run Ever
A young man from New York City who travels to Vietnam in 1967 to deliver beer to his childhood friends serving in the military. As he navigates the horrors of war, Chickie confronts the harsh realities of the conflict and the impact it has on his friends and himself. The film explores themes of friendship, patriotism, and the consequences of war.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 6, 2025
Growing up, my friends as I had a rule that we had to honor all of our drunken promises. Most of the time the promises were simply to get together the next day, go golfing, catch a Mariners game together, etc. Other times the promises might be prone to a bit more regret, like running a 5k the next morning. But no drunken promise ever quite reached the level that Chickie Donahue (Zac Efron) makes to his buds at the local watering hole.
A staunch supporter of the Vietnam War, Chickie, bemoans the protestors and the negative media coverage feeling that his buddies that are fighting and dying over there deserved some kind of show of support from folks at home. So one night when confronted with a question of what he is actively doing for his buddies, he makes a drunken promise to hop onto a merchant marine vessel bound for Vietnam and bring his boys some beers. Based on a remarkable true story, this follows Chickie making good on his promise to march some beers into a war zone and hopefully march his way out.
Written and directed by Peter Farrelly, this takes a somewhat light hearted look at the horrors of war. Chickie’s reckless naïveté lends itself to some humorous moments while still underscoring the gravity of the atrocities happening around him. I suspect that some will struggle with the tonal imbalance. The fact that it’s not a ‘war is hell’ relentlessly bleak war drama, actually makes this a much more unique film experience.
It has some stilted dialogue at times and it’s overarching themes are overly simplistic (war bad, soldiers good), but overall this is still a solidly entertaining watch. I’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to incredible true stories though, and in my brief post-movie googling I haven’t found anything that would discredit what’s depicted in the film. I think this is definitely worth streaming when you get a chance.