Mancation Man Vacation Movies
Films that Capture the Male Bonding Experience of Mancation Vacations
Are you in need of some mancation inspiration? Here are some of the top mancation movies:
City Slickers
This is the ultimate mancation movie. It has all the elements: guys doing manly things, life changing male bonding moments and an escape from the female-related troubles of life. Plus, Billy Crystal is just hilarious as the midlife-crisis-afflicted protagonist.
Internet Movie Database's City Slickers page
Sideways
Two men go on a roadtrip through California wine country in one of the more recent and acclaimed mancation movies. Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church had breakout performances.
Stand by Me
This is more like a boycation, but this movie is a great way to remember all the reasons mancations are so important. In this 1986 classic movie about mancationers-in-training, four boys set out on a Homer Odyssey-like quest to find a missing child. There is some major pre-puberty bonding, including deep boy-talk, camping and even some fireside storytelling. See River Phoenix in one of his best roles, and a pre-24 Kiefer Sutherland as a major meanie.
Swingers
This is the film that coined the term, "Vegas, baby, Vegas!" This is easily one of the most hilarious movies depicting a mancation. Although the actual mancation part of the movie is brief, it is probably the most interesting part. In it, Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau escape to Vegas for some guy-time. It's part of Vaughn's character's attempt to help Favreau's character get over an old girlfriend. Of course, in the end they hook up with two casino girls. But instead of getting lucky, the girls end up comforting Favreau.
Very Bad Things
Is it just me, or do most mancation movies involve a trip to Vegas? This one does, too, but it takes a dark and twisted sense of humor to enjoy this black comedy starring Christian Slater, Jon Favreau from Swingers and Daniel Stern from City Slickers. (Are these guys typecast as mancationers or what?). Described by the movie-makers themselves as "a very savage comedy," the plot includes several murders and mishaps, all in the name of making a wedding come together properly.
Field of Dreams
What's for a guy not to like? This movie's mancation segment involves baseball, ghosts and an old VW van. Coolness. In this movie, Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones go on a roadtrip to track down clues that are given by a mysterious voice.
Road Trip
A bunch of college guys hit the road in dad's car on a quest to retrieve an incriminating video tape before it gets into the hands of one frat boy's out-of-town girlfriend. The guys travel from Ithaca, N.Y. to Austin, and potty humor ensues. The movie's tagline really sums up the tone of the film: "Love is never having to say you're sorry you made a sex tape with a woman then mailed it to your girlfriend."
These movies make great guy gifts, and are even fun to pack away to watch on your next mancation.
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