The Greatest Beer Run Ever Review: Pour it Out? Or Crack it Open?

The Greatest Beer Run Ever sounds like a college bro comedy. If you didn’t know anything about it, you’d believe someone who told you that it was a subtitle to a film starting with “National Lampoon presents” or “American Pie presents.” Or perhaps you’d believe it was the latest stoner comedy starring Seth Rogen. 

The Greatest Beer Run Ever, however, is none of those. As a matter of fact, the newest AppleTV+ film is based on a true story. 

And boy is it a wild story.

Based on a true story, you say?

Zac Efron, Russell Crowe, and Bill Murray star in a story about a real person, Chickie Donohue, a somewhat stagnant creature of habit who wanted to do something positive to encourage his friends who were fighting in Vietnam. 

That thing he decides to do? Sneak behind the lines of the war effort to bring his buddies a beer from their favorite watering hole. 

The misadventures that ensue are a bit of a mixed bag. Chickie encounters his friends and makes new ones that makes for some feel-good moments, but he’s also given a lesson in the horrors of war. 

Much like the misadventures of Chickie (which would be another misleading title for this movie) — The Greatest Beer Run Ever itself is also a mixed bag. 

The production value is tremendous, and Efron’s performance as Donohue is top notch. He perfectly captures the on-screen maturation of a man in that situation — which makes even the most ridiculous true story believable. 

The Colonel: The man’s stone sober! That’s his fifth beer, maybe. Tops!

Even though Chickie’s undertaking is monumentally stupid — the lighter and more heartwarming moments softens the audience to the character through the duration of the film. 

True? Maybe. Perfect? No.

The true negative of The Greatest Beer Run Ever comes when it veers too far into the didactic “horrors of war” lessons.

Even though Chick undergoes a major change throughout the film, and the horrors of war are obvious — the film still feels the need to beat its audience over the head with “what war is.” 

It seems as though The Greatest Beer Run Ever may be trying to lure viewers into what seems like a feel-good story, and then surprise them with an anti-war message. But the anti-war message isn’t the main issue with the film, it’s that it doesn’t respect the intelligence of its audience. 

Regardless of the missteps, Efron charms in a well-made film. The message of the film is well-intentioned, and The Greatest Beer Run Ever is worth at least one viewing. There’s something in it for the anti-war protestors and the troop supporters alike!

A few stray thoughts:

• Bill Murray is hardly recognizable in this film — makes his strong performance all the more enjoyable. He still has the best one-liners in the film, though. 
• Russell Crowe serves as the priest of the film’s message, if you will. He’s good in it – but has some of the hokiest, forced dialogue in the whole thing.
• Did anyone else get Forrest Gump flashbacks when Chick was running through the woods? Just me?
• The Greatest Beer Run Ever is based on a true story, and most of the friends you see in the film indeed survive the Vietnam war. 

What did you think of The Greatest Beer Run Ever? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Greatest Beer Run Ever is now streaming on AppleTV+

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