Buddy comedies are basically arranged marriages between stars people want to see together. That’s what makes the genre such reliable crowd-pleasing fare: besides knowing that everything will end well regardless of how each person feels about the other when the movie starts, it gives the audience a chance to see whether favorite actors of the moment share chemistry.
Tossing an interracial component into the mix generally changes the tone, though – unless, as in “Vacation Friends,” the filmmakers ignore it entirely.
Clay Tarver’s harmless flick marries the dual appeals of John Cena and Lil Rel Howery into a comedy of misread intentions and substance-fueled mishaps that begins at a Mexican resort and ending at a destination wedding at a lodge and spa on the outskirts of Atlanta.
Read More at Salon.com: “Vacation Friends” is a happy buddy comedy in a world where race doesn’t matter. That’s a problem
