A man's story of leaving New York in 1967 to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the Army while they are fighting in Vietnam.A man's story of leaving New York in 1967 to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the Army while they are fighting in Vietnam.A man's story of leaving New York in 1967 to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the Army while they are fighting in Vietnam.
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
Featured reviews
I Really Enjoyed This - first it's just one heck of a great true story - but then, it's got a lot of heart - and it even kind of offers a different view of the War in Vietnam! It's got a good feel to it - it's got some great people in it - it's just a great movie! And again - an amazing true story! I'd honestly say the overall review numbers on this should be even higher - I'd say it's a solid 8 - but I gave it a 9 just to boost the average.
Terrific feel to it - and just some amazing real people! Kudos to everyone involved with bringing this story to the screen - it's a terrific film about a crazy idea!
Terrific feel to it - and just some amazing real people! Kudos to everyone involved with bringing this story to the screen - it's a terrific film about a crazy idea!
While not the "greatest" movie ever, I enjoyed watching it. Efron, despite the critics' opinions does a decent if not outstanding job as "Chickee". The supporting cast including Russell Crowe as a cynical war photographer are all very good. I was also impressed by Ruby Serkis as Chickee's anti-war sister. When Chickee reaches Vietnam, there is plenty of commentary on the bravery of the soldiers fighting there along with the foolish decisions of politicians who sent them there. Also stars Bill Murray as the "Colonel" who runs Chickee's neighborhood bar. Recommended - 7/10. Also, be sure to watch the follow-up conversation with Zac Efron, the real "Chickee" Donohue, and the director Peter Farrelly.
It's like an onion. Many layers working correctly together. The title may sound like a bad late night teen movie but quickly showed its many layers it to be much more a social commentary than a war movie. Excellent cast overall and the leads were particularly stellar. Based on real events and people, within a short real life time-frame of 1967 America and the Tet offensive, lies this very good film. Partially a heavy dose of beers and bros from Philly juxtaposed with 1960's America's unflinching coursework on a culture of war escalation like we did in 1945, says Bill Murray as The Colonel. Those sentiments juxtaposed with the Prophetic words from Viet Nam War Correspondent, Russell Crowe, "It isn't the truth that hurts us. It's the lying that hurts...". Well worth your time!
The title alone was enough to get me to come out and see this one. Although not what I was expecting with a title like that, but it was pretty amazing.
Mr. Zac Efron did a fine job telling James "Chickie" Donahue's true story of a man's strange plan to get up and do something by personally going to Vietnam to give all his boys from the block a beer.
It's starts out as a Frat boy style movie but the odd journey he goes though was special. Not sure how true the movie is, but I do know one man cannot carry that many cans of beer in a duffle bag, which I concentrated far too hard on.
It feels like Efron is trying to pull a Mark Walberg with this vehicle. Yes, Russel Crowe and Bill Murray are in this flick, but they are not pulling any weight here. Their parts could have been played by anyone and it was useless to have them in the film, cause it was all about Zac Efron finding the perfect part where he can use his boyish charm to still seem serious, but if he's hoping for an Oscar nod, I think Walberg, who could have killed this role 20 years ago, still has it down packed with Father Stu.
But either way, this movie was funny for those people who love movies featuring Northeasterners being as blue collar as possible while attempting to step out of their environment. I grew up close to Chickie's hood so I'm down.
Mr. Zac Efron did a fine job telling James "Chickie" Donahue's true story of a man's strange plan to get up and do something by personally going to Vietnam to give all his boys from the block a beer.
It's starts out as a Frat boy style movie but the odd journey he goes though was special. Not sure how true the movie is, but I do know one man cannot carry that many cans of beer in a duffle bag, which I concentrated far too hard on.
It feels like Efron is trying to pull a Mark Walberg with this vehicle. Yes, Russel Crowe and Bill Murray are in this flick, but they are not pulling any weight here. Their parts could have been played by anyone and it was useless to have them in the film, cause it was all about Zac Efron finding the perfect part where he can use his boyish charm to still seem serious, but if he's hoping for an Oscar nod, I think Walberg, who could have killed this role 20 years ago, still has it down packed with Father Stu.
But either way, this movie was funny for those people who love movies featuring Northeasterners being as blue collar as possible while attempting to step out of their environment. I grew up close to Chickie's hood so I'm down.
I approached this film with an interest with the title and the premise. I got much more than that.
It was disappointing to see the brevity given to Bill Murray and Russell Crowe's characters. But Zach Efron really did deliver.
This is probably one of the best post-Vietnam War movies to date, delving into the nitty gritty of how it totally destroyed countless lives of families and humans in general, not to mention the environmental damage.
Apocalypse Now brought the horror of the war to the screen as in the napalming of large areas, but it is good to see the depiction of the results of the war on the human bystanders.
It was disappointing to see the brevity given to Bill Murray and Russell Crowe's characters. But Zach Efron really did deliver.
This is probably one of the best post-Vietnam War movies to date, delving into the nitty gritty of how it totally destroyed countless lives of families and humans in general, not to mention the environmental damage.
Apocalypse Now brought the horror of the war to the screen as in the napalming of large areas, but it is good to see the depiction of the results of the war on the human bystanders.
Did you know
- TriviaBased on the book of the same name. A memoir written by John "Chick" Donohue and J.T. Molloy about Donohue's eight weeks in Vietnam delivering beer to his friends and other soldiers in combat.
- Goofs"Coates is seen wearing a kaffiyeh (a traditional Arab head scarf) around his neck. The kaffiyeh did not become a fashion accessory among westerners until the 1980s."
Coatses is a war correspondent, so he would have traveled all over the world, and could have well reported from the Middle East, where he could have easily acquired a kaffiyeh.
- Quotes
Chickie Donohue: Don't be dumb, Arthur. This ain't a war no more. It's mass murder.
Coates: That's what war is, Chick. It's one giant crime scene.
- Crazy creditsSPOILER: at the end of the movie, we find out what happened to Tommy Minogue. The info reads as follows: "Tommy Minogue willingly sacrificed his life to save the lives of his commanding officer and the soldiers in his company. There is a grass roots effort to award him the medal of honor."
- SoundtracksSoul Finger
Written by Jimmy King, Ben Cauley, James Alexander, Ronnie Caldwell, Carl Cunningham, Phalon R. Jones Jr.
Performed by The Bar-Kays
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing
- How long is The Greatest Beer Run Ever?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 2h 6m(126 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.00 : 1
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