The Hangover Part II

For those of you who don't know. The Hangover Part II director Todd Phillips changed the name from The Hangover 2, to The Hangover Part II because he felt that the two films were most closely related to The Godfather Part I & II only in relation between sequel to original. Boy was he wrong. The Godfather Part II expanded upon a fantastic first part. I feel that The Hangover was a great first part, but I think it would have been better off just left alone. Had it stayed on its' own it probably could have gone down in history with comedy greats like Caddyshack, Animal House, and Airplane!. While some of those films had sequels as well, none of them ever even came close to equalling the hilarity of its' predecessor.

I am not going to say that I didn't laugh during The Hangover Part II, but the humor seemed far too familiar to me. It seemed like a rehash of the first one, but in a different country and a different person is missing. Yes the times that the characters were figuring their "situation" out were funny, but they seemed far too similar to the first film. The events follow the same pattern that they did in the first one. The problem is that the first movie had the huge advantage of surprise, which this one could have used! The fact that the writers "came up" with the same story, but in Thailand (pronounced "Thighland" thanks to Alan) was just uncreative to me. It is still a funny movie, though just a new/cruder style of humor. The most specific example of this involves Stu. The scene with Phil, Alan, and him in the strip club is funny at first to watch, but by the end of that scene the humor was walking a very fine line for me. I laughed, don't get me wrong, but the "women" walking around throughout...It just got awkward by the end.

The humor may have gone from witty and creative to bland and boring, but the chemistry amongst the actors is still there. Bradley Cooper reprising his role as Phil, "the cool guy", has obvious chemistry with every character he comes in contact with during the film. Ed Helms again playing Stu, the "Doctor", plays the same "wild and crazy (only when he's drunk)" character he did in the first one. And of course, who could forget Alan, portrayed by Zach Galifianikis, the "lovable oaf". Each character still brings his own personality to the table and they still work well together. However, I went into this movie hoping and praying that Doug would get to be a part of the bachelor party and the shenanigans, but he was, yet again, "too cool" to participate in the festivities so to speak. Stu, Phil, and Alan still go through some interesting experiences, which I don't want to reveal to you because you should still see them for yourself.

While Stu doesn't pull another tooth, as seen in the trailers he has gotten a tattoo (the same one as Mike Tyson), instead of a tiger, they find a monkey, and instead of the groom going missing, a different character disappears. The sense of adventure, surprise, and pure enjoyment of the first one was just lost for me. I found the movie to be almost repetitive. It was still a funny movie, but in no way surpasses or expands upon the first one as Todd Phillips had thought it would.

I'm sure The Hangover Part II will still hold its' own at the box office and in peoples' minds, but the fact is, it follows the same plot (person goes missing, follow clues from pockets, discover misadventures of night before, someone drugged someone else, Stu has an epiphany) as the first one. The chemistry amongst actors is definitely still there and I felt that the heart was still there. Maybe not the "heart" per se, but the brotherhood/camaraderie was still there. I still think that fans of the first one will enjoy this movie, but definitely take it with a grain of salt and don't expect to be too surprised.

6.5/10