Climbing Higher Pictures

Does lightning ever strike twice? That appears to be the big question surrounding The Hangover Part II, a sequel to the 2009 sleeper hit comedy that took the world by storm. Can the trio bring the same level of outrageous self-discovery to what is essentially a retread of the exact same plot, only this time, set in the middle of Thailand? Is this the film to overcome the comedy sequel curse and actually improve a formula over the original? All your questions are answered below.

The Hangover Part II Review

By Ryan Hamelin

Movie Grade: C+

If you’re looking for more of the same, you won’t be disappointed. Everyone else, this is going to hurt a bit. On paper you have a surefire hit in the making, transplanting the wild and kinetic night gone wrong from a relatively stable Las Vegas, to the craziness of Bangkok. As the box office will most likely attest, there’s a major market for this film, seeing as a sequel to a successful movie tends to draw the entire crowd that saw the first film theatrically as well as any converts from DVD screenings after the fact. Unfortunately, the opening gross is a fake number, an inflated boost of ticket traffic from people looking to experience the same level of surprise and elation they got two summers before. What they’ll receive instead is a pale shadow of the original, trading wit and originality for gross-out gags and outrageous yet predictable plot turns.

Stew (Ed Helms) is getting married. Not to Heather Graham, the stripper with a heart of gold, who would’ve made the sequel, I don’t know, motivated? Instead, it’s to a Jamie Chung, who may be incredibly attractive, but seems tacked on to allow the writers to mangle formal Asian stereotypes and place the film in Thailand, the location of the scrapped Old School sequel. Todd Phillips has been eager to get the chance to shoot a movie in Thailand since long before the first Hangover reached screens, and he spares no expense on gorgeous helicopter shots of both beautiful and seedy vistas. Bangkok comes across as a darker and more lawless cousin to the American neon signs, but without any of the familiarity and recognizable features which gave the first film its charm.

I would say that my biggest disappointment is the underuse of Justin Bartha. The guy made both National Treasure movies bearable, and he spent the whole first film off screen getting sunburned. As soon as I heard about a possible sequel, I was ecstatic at the idea of finally giving him the screen time he deserved, bringing the “wolf-pack” up to four, and giving the guys another person to bounce references to the first film off of, someone who could say things like, “You guys really did shit like this looking for me?” Instead, Doug decides to “go up to bed” before the intoxicated guys take off for Bangkok, and is left at the hotel the following morning with his wife acting as a mediator to Chung’s rightfully upset parents.

In an effort to re-create the feel of the original, it appears they made the choice to abandon any of the elements that could’ve been expanded, and instead made room for Ken Jeong’s funny, but pointless, Mr. Chow (The naked Asian who jumped out of the trunk in the first film) to take up tons of time without any real payoff to speak of. There’s also a distinct lack of tension and fear, as we know that they’re going to find the kid they’re looking for, and the characters don’t even seem all that concerned either. They’re far more worried about finding out they did something even stupider the previous evening, and Phillips and co keep kicking up the gags to the point that there’s nothing left to do but chuckle in disbelief. Bigger doesn’t always equal better, and this is one comedy sequel that goes for broke despite appearing to know the whole exercise is a lost cause. If they set the inevitable Hangover Part III in Amsterdam, I’m not really sure what they have left to do to themselves.

If you’re a fan of the original, you’ll find a lot to like there. Getting a chance to spend another two hours with Phil, Stew, and Allen isn’t as bad as, say, taking a fourth trip on a pirate ship, but a lot of the choices just don’t make sense. The flick doesn’t really even have a good grasp on what it takes seriously, as a character’s missing finger (a kid who is established in the film as being a champion cello player) is glossed over so completely by the end that you start to believe the answer “Bangkok, dude” can get the writers out of any plot incongruity. Is it worth a look? Perhaps, but I’d recommend a healthy dose of skepticism going in, or you’re bound to leave underwhelmed. My actual advice is to spend your cash on Kung Fu Panda 2, or hold onto it for the well-regarded X-Men First Class next weekend. This one is unfortunately worth the skip.