(Long Island, N.Y.) I’m one of the few Americans that didn’t quite get The Hangover. It was a funny film, sure, and it frequently went over the line of good taste, but overall, I just didn’t get what all the commotion was about.
Still, it made a boatload of dough, and the Powers That Be demanded a sequel and, well, here it is: a shot-for-shot remake of the first movie, cleverly titled “The Hangover Part 2.” Same plot, same characters, same story progression, same twists, same everything. Director Todd Phillips is the physical embodiment of the phrase “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“But Chris,” you say. “I never saw the original Hangover! You can’t review a sequel by just saying that it’s a carbon-copy of the first one…what about people like me?” Well, okay, that’s fair. Let’s discuss the 2009 comedy hit for a moment, shall we?
The film starred Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis as guys who go to a friend’s bachelor party in Las Vegas, tie one on, and wake up the next day in their destroyed hotel room with no memory of what happened the night before. The groom is missing, and the trio wander aimlessly about town trying to piece together exactly what the heck happened the night before. Cue wacky and politically-incorrect adventures.
Now, move the setting from Vegas to Thailand, change nothing else, and there you have it: The Hangover Part 2. I’ll recap the plot by using the magical power known as cutting and pasting a good chunk of my previous paragraph, with minor, minor corrections to account for the .01% difference in plot: the guys who go to a friend’s bachelor party in Thailand, tie one on, and wake up the next day in their destroyed hotel room with no memory of what happened the night before. The groom’s future brother-in-law is missing, and the trio wander aimlessly about town trying to piece together exactly what the heck happened the night before. Cue wacky and politically-incorrect adventures. Oh, and it ends the same way, too.
I suppose this would be okay if the jokes were fresh, or at least even funny, but they’re not. The filmmakers seem to be going more for the “I can’t believe they did that” laughter from audiences than anything resembling actual wit, which is just weak and lazy.
Bradley Cooper plays Phil Ed, the cool, pretty guy of the group. He’s okay. Ed Helms plays Stu the nerdy dentist, and this time around he’s the one getting married. He’s okay as well…actually, he’s a little more okay than Cooper, because he’s the closest thing to a funny character this movie has. Not close enough, but closer than anyone else. Oh, and Zach Galifianakis again plays weirdo man-child Alan, and the act is growing thin, Zach. This guy plays the same role in every movie he makes; that’s why Adam Sandler’s career is in the toilet now, Zach. Stop before it’s too late.
Bit players from the first Hangover show up too, and I suppose if you liked the first movie you’d get excited by their inclusion, but really…who cares? When you see so little effort going into the production of a sequel, so little original thought or passion to deliver something that surpasses the original, you can’t help but feel ripped off. Perhaps a little insulted. Everyone involved is just cashing a paycheck. Nothing more.
The sad thing is that, based on how much they loved the first movie, the public will flock to the sequel. It will produce gobs of cash for the studios not based on its own merits, but on the goodwill generated by the original Hangover. Once that’s used up, further sequels will deliver diminishing returns because of how many people went to see Part 2 and walked out pretty much saying what I’ve been saying this entire review. Of course, the critical backlash against Part 2 will go unnoticed by the producers, who will declare this film a massive hit and exactly what fans wanted…
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh a few times during The Hangover Part 2’s running time, but that didn’t stop me from that whole “been there, done that” feeling about 10 minutes into the movie. Now, if you loved the first Hangover and wished nothing more than to have it re-released with a new poster and the number “2” at the end, your ship has come in. Me, I wouldn’t support such by-the-numbers drivel. X-Men: first Class opens today. Go see that instead…I hear it’s pretty great.
