The Hangover Part II Review

                                                          2 1/2 Nuts

Director: Todd Phillips

This is one review I could have almost written before seeing this film. I know that sounds curious for me as a critic but let’s think about it for a minute. If you watched any trailer for this movie then you know The Hangover Part II is going to be similar in many ways to the original Hangover. Early on in the film the main characters get drunk, wake up to discover their friend missing, and have to find the lost person before one of them gets married by the end.  Part II is the same premise; using the same group of very funny actors and director of the original they manage to keep the plot engrossing so that the audience is interested throughout. Going into this movie I had a good feeling (like many in the audience) that it would still be very funny, however probably not as good as it’s predecessor.

Let’s be real for a minute. If you weren’t expecting lines like” I can’t believe this is happening again”, well then shame on you.  If you go into this movie thinking you are going to see a brand new idea, then you clearly have not seen a preview for this movie.  What I do like is that the trailers didn’t lie to us; the audience knew exactly what they were getting into when they purchased their tickets. 

This time the gang heads out to Thailand for Stu’s wedding.  Stu is played once again by the very funny Ed Helms.  Somehow they get incredibly drunk and lose Stu’s future wife’s younger brother. It’s up to Stu, Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to find her brother and bring him back. It does sound like a real carbon copy of the first but looking past that, we once again watch as the group tries to figure out what happened the night before. The situations they get into this time prove to be extremely funny, just not quite as funny as they were in the first film.

What works in this movie are the characters. The three main stars once again have terrific chemistry and work well off one another.  Galifianakis is still outrageous, however at times it felt like he was going a bit over the top with his character, which isn’t really necessary. Nevertheless he is still hysterical and provides many of the best lines in the movie.  Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms were also great and I liked them as much as I did in the original.  They are not working with the most unique idea ever but it is impressive how they can still keep the plot moving.

The writer’s apparently were trying to make Hangover II more outrageous than the first film. At times that worked, and regrettably at other time it did not.  If critics had a problem with Bridesmaids’ raunchiness then look out for this one.  Hangover part II shows more male genitalia then you could possibly want. There is one scene that is so strange and gross that it stuck with me for the rest of the film; it should have been taken out.

In a peaNut Shell: This is not as good as the original, not even close. They didn’t really break out of the original mold. The film still manages to be extremely funny despite all it flaws, which is downright impressive.  The movie had some slow parts; however the three main guys are funny enough to keep this comedy going.