| The Greatest Beer Run Ever | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Peter Farrelly |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | The Greatest Beer Run Ever by |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Sean Porter |
| Edited by | Patrick J. Don Vito |
| Music by | Dave Palmer |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Apple TV+ |
Release dates |
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Running time | 126 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a 2022 Americanbiographicalwarcomedy drama film, co-written and directed byPeter Farrelly, based on the book of the same name byJohn "Chickie" Donohue andJoanna Molloy. The film, starringZac Efron andRussell Crowe, follows the true story of Donohue, who, as a young man, sneaks into theVietnam War to deliver some beer to his friends while they serve their duty.
The Greatest Beer Run Ever had its world premiere at the2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2022, and released in select US theaters on September 23 and onApple TV+ on September 30, 2022, byApple Studios. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.
In 1968, Marine Corps veteran John “Chickie” Donohue is a slacking merchant seaman who lives with his family inInwood, New York City. His sister Christine is stronglyopposed to theVietnam War. Chickie and his friends attend the funeral of an old friend that has been killed in action, and are informed that another close friend, Tommy, has gone missing in action. Chickie and Red discuss lifting the spirits of their friends serving overseas and Chickie decides to deliver beers to them inSouth Vietnam.
Chickie sails toSaigon with a duffle bag full ofPabst Blue Ribbon cans. Military police officer Tommy Collins urges Chickie to stay out of danger and go home, but helps map out a plan for reaching Chickie's other friends. He travels to LZ Jane viaBien Hoa Air Base andDanang Air Base searching for Rick Duggan, serving in the1st Cavalry Division. Duggan’s sergeant summons him by radio, and he's exposed to enemy fire returning to the command post. Duggan allows Chickie to join his squad on the battlefield as they fire at theViet Cong from trenches. Chickie passes beers out that night, and Duggan informs Chickie that one of their friends, Reynolds, was killed.
Travelling alone toKontum Airfield by helicopter, Chickie watches two CIA agents interrogate a prisoner before throwing him to his death, and the agents pursue him as he requests a ride to Saigon. He runs into the jungle to elude them, and after he emerges that night is reunited with Kevin “Looney” McLoone who arranges a flight to Pleiku. Chickie throws him his beer as the helicopter ascends.
In Saigon, Chickie learns his ship has sailed for the Philippines due to warnings of an impending attack. Hieu directs him to theU.S. Embassy where a woman arranges a flight toManila to rejoin the ship. He returns to the Caravelle Hotel and shows anti-war journalists photos as proof that he went to LZ Jane. When the Viet Conginvades Saigon in the surpriseTet Offensive, Chickie and photographer Arthur Coates explore the streets, where Chickie sees Hieu killed in theViet Cong attack on US Embassy. Coates photographs the aftermath of the embassy attack. The two drive to the scene of an explosion atLong Binh Post, where Coates explains that the military would ratherfake an entry hole in the embassy wall than admit that the attack was an inside job. Chickie shares a beer with one last wounded friend, Bobby Pappas, who confirms Tommy Minogue's death.
Chickie returns home with a changed perspective on the war. He sits in a park among tributes for soldiers and shares his last beer with Christine. The epilogue reveals that Collins, Duggan, McLoone, and Pappas returned from the war alive while Chickie had a long career with the New York Citysandhoggers union. The film ends with a contemporary photograph of the group gathered for drinks.
In 2015,Andrew Muscato produced and directed a short documentaryThe Greatest Beer Run Ever. The short was released on thePabst Blue Ribbon YouTube Channel onVeterans Day November 11, 2015.[3] The documentary was based on the true story ofJohn "Chickie" Donohue who sailed to Vietnam to deliver beers to friends from the old neighborhood. He later said that he "was a staunch supporter of the war. But when I got there, I saw things that just weren't right, and it was just false, totally false."[4]
On April 26, 2019, as soon asSkydance Media picked up the rights to adapt the bookThe Greatest Beer Run Ever to film,Peter Farrelly came on board to write the script with Brian Currie and Pete Jones as well as direct the movie.David Ellison, Dana Goldberg andDon Granger would produce for Skydance along with Andrew Muscato.[5]Viggo Mortensen was cast in the film, withDylan O'Brien joining him soon after.[6][7]
In March 2021, the film was picked up byApple Studios, with Mortensen and O'Brien no longer involved.Zac Efron andRussell Crowe entered negotiations to join the cast to replace O'Brien and Mortensen withBill Murray courted for a supporting role. Efron and Crowe were confirmed to join the cast in July 2021.[8] Filming was expected at the time to begin in August 2021, either inAustralia orNew Zealand.[9]Jake Picking,Will Ropp,Archie Renaux andKyle Allen were cast in September 2021.[10] Murray would be confirmed in October,[11] withRuby Ashbourne Serkis,Matt Cook, Omari K. Chancellor and Will Hochman joining the next month.[12]
Filming began in September 2021, and was shot on location in bothThailand andNew Jersey; specificallyNewark,North Bergen,Jersey City andPaterson.[13][14]
The Greatest Beer Run Ever had its world premiere at the2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2022, and was released in the United States by Apple Studios in select theaters on September 23, 2022, and onApple TV+ on September 30, 2022.[15]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 118 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads, "Far from intoxicating,The Greatest Beer Run Ever reduces its fun fact-based story to a flat, flavorless brew."[16]Metacritic assigned the film aweighted average score of 39 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[17] In its first week of release,The Greatest Beer Run Ever was the tenth most popular TV show or movie on streaming in the United States.[18]
Former United States Secretary of StateJohn Kerry, a Vietnam War veteran, wrote an op-ed forThe Boston Globe in support of the film. In the op-ed, which was published on September 22, 2022, Kerry wrote, "For those of us of the Vietnam generation, the film is a poignant reminder that, whatever we did in that time and whatever our political perspective, how we experienced Vietnam is inextricably intertwined with who we experienced it with."[19]
The film's screenplay written by Peter Farrelly, Brian Currie and Pete Jones, was nominated for a 2023Humanitas Prize in the Comedy Feature Film category.[20]
