Yo me encargo de la cerveza

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.

An interesting cautionary tale of war by late-mid boomers for, and with, millennials. Told through the eyes of people at home, it touches lightly on a few themes surrounding the role of media, propaganda and military deception and ineptitude. While my family were either too old or too young to participate in this war, it reminded me that I grew up catching glimpses of this war, much like Chickies neighbourhood, and never properly understood what was going on- and in that respect it seemed very on point. Zac Efron is great in this, and makes the story seem modern in an effortless way. Much better than I thought it would be.

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.

If this wasn't based on a true story, no one could've come up with it. It is so obscure and should be so impossible that if someone had even attempted to imagine this plot up, it would be disregarded as far too unbelievable.

But, alas, it was real. And Chickie Donohue was real. And man, was this story worth telling!

I really enjoyed the acting and storytelling that took place in this movie. The chaotic humor and nature of Chickie is endearing and enough to keep a heavy subject light enough that you can watch it without getting too mentally or emotionally bogged down. But, it doesn't omit the reality of the situation that was the Vietnam war. It walks a good balance.

Zac Efron also does a really good job, in my opinion. He portrays the oblivious moments perfectly, the emotional moments with care, and everything in between is believable. Russell Crowe also does a superb job in his role. I loved their scenes together.

The main thing working against this movie for me was that it was a little too long for the subject at hand. It could've been about 20-25 minutes shorter by shaving some things out that felt like they drug things out. Even though I liked it, it lost my attention a couple of times. If you give this a 1 hr 40 minute run time instead of 2 hr 10 minutes, I think it feels more succinct and polished.

Well worth the watch and I would encourage almost anyone to check it out!

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!