The Hangover Part II (2011)

Studio: Warner Brothers

Theatrical Release: May 26, 2011

R

Review by James Klein

The advertisements say, "The Wolf Pack is Back" but what it should say is "The exact same story and most of the same jokes are back." 2009's The Hangover is a modern comedy masterpiece and a film that is now quotable and one that I can throw on my blu ray player at any time and still be sucked into, laughing my ass off. From the trailers of The Hangover Part II, I knew the film was going to be very similar to the first film in that it had the same structure and set up. What I didn't know was that some of the same jokes would return and even the same cameos. In fact, there is nothing surprising about this sequel. Luckily the film is barely saved by the returning characters of Stu, Alan and Phil.

Stu is about to be married and he refuses to have a bachelor party due to what had happened to him at the last one he attended. Much to the dismay of Phil, the friends along with Doug journey to Bangkok for Stu's wedding. When the friends sit around a campfire and toast with one beer each, they wake up the next morning in a strange shabby hotel room with complete amnesia once again and this time instead of a tiger in their room, they now have a monkey and a naked Mr. Chow. Doug is back at the resort waiting for the friends to show up and this time it is Stu's future brother in law who's now missing.

Here is my stance on comedies: as long as it makes me laugh I am happy. I don't care so much about storylines or any aesthetics of film when it comes to comedy. Just make me laugh. The Hangover Part II did make me laugh. I laughed a lot actually. But I laughed nowhere near as hard as I did with the first film and that is because everything in this sequel is recycled. From story line, to plot points, to structure, to jokes (yes, we find out what happened to the boys on a cell phone camera at the film's conclusion) the film has no originality whatsoever which is all the more shocking and depressing in that the first film was in fact original and the jokes and surprises were fresh. The Hangover Part II is like eating a cold pizza the next day. It still tastes good but nowhere near as delicious as when it was hot and fresh the previous night.

I was thinking of mentioning a few scenes or situations that did make me laugh in The Hangover Part II but there are so few original jokes that I wouldn't want to spoil the movie. I will say the film is saved by the great comedic talents of Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and especially Zach Galifianakis. Even with recycled jokes, I still laugh at Phil's "who gives a shit" attitude, I still laugh at Stu's screams of terror and anger, and I still laugh at Alan's obliviousness. I really feel bad for actor Justin Bartha who plays their other friend, Doug. He doesn't get to do much in this film yet again and is written out of the situation in such a half-assed manner that it almost seems insulting.

Overall, the film is still funny at times and I think you could do much worse at the theater right now. Would I pay $10 for it? No, this is a matinee film all the way. There is already talk of The Hangover Part III since this sequel broke box office records for an R rated comedy. What I would like to see are these characters return but put in a new situation where no one is getting married, no one is missing, and  no one suffers from a drug induced, amnesia hangover.