What do you get when you throw a straight-laced couple into the middle of a wild and uninhibited twosome’s Mexican vacation? You get Vacation Friends, the raunchy, Hangover-esque comedy debuting on Hulu this Friday.
Director Clay Tarver thinks most people have had the experience of getting a little too close to friends they’ve met on vacation. “When you return to the sober light of day, you’re like, ‘Wait were we friends or were we not friends?'” He believes the freedom of thinking you’ll never see those people again allows a certain amount of freedom. “You think you’re never gonna see them again, and this is a movie where the premise is, ‘What if you do see them again?'”
John Cena, who plays Ron, thinks meeting those unexpected new friends is an experience you should just take in. “I’ve met people like [his character Ron and Ron’s girlfriend Kyla] in real life and had a blast.” While he doesn’t think he’d go quite as far as the characters in the film, he’d be open to the possibilities. “I don’t know if I’d ride that wave. I don’t know how far I’d go with them, but I certainly would enjoy their company.”
Filming in Puerto Rico, which stood in for Mexico during production, allowed the cast and crew to have some Vacation Friends-style fun of their own. That included filming a large bar-hopping sequence that included wrestling, getting carried out of a bar, and general chaos. “It was mayhem, but in the best way possible,” says Yvonne Orji who plays Emily. “That was just so much fun. We also didn’t know that the world was shutting down on the other side of the ocean, so we were in our little bubble.”
“I really love traveling,” says Andrew Bachelor who plays Emily’s brother in the film. “I’ve met some crazy characters.” When thinking about some of his past experiences, he agrees with his costar John Cena, “I just went with the flow.”
As a comedian, Yvonne Orji has found one extra benefit to making friends while on vacation—they support her in her projects and shows. “They’ll come backstage and be like ‘Yeah, you made it!'”
Vacation Friends debuts August 27, 2021 exclusively on HULU.
About Vacation Friends
In this raw and raunchy comedy, straight-laced Marcus and Emily (Howery, Orji) are befriended by wild, thrill-seeking partiers Ron and Kyla (Cena, Hagner) at a resort in Mexico. Living in the moment, the usually level-headed couple lets loose to enjoy a week of uninhibited fun and debauchery with their new “vacation friends.” Months after their walk on the wild side, Marcus and Emily are horrified when Ron and Kyla show up uninvited at their wedding, creating chaos and proving that what happens on vacation, doesn’t necessarily stay on vacation.