Rated R for pervasive language, strong sexual content including graphic nudity, drug use and brief violent images
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Paul Giamatti, Mike Tyson, Jeffrey Tambor, Mason Lee, Jamie Chung, Sasha Barrese, Gillian Vigman, Aroon Seeboonruang, Nirut Sirichanya
Director: Todd Phillips
The goal here is clear: bring together the original cast, same director, use the basic premise of the first movie, alter the setting, work in the memorable bit players from the original, incorporate some new jokes, push the comic boundaries a little further and presto! It's not art, but it'll rake in some bucks.
In a nutshell, this sequel is to the original "Hangover" what "Ocean's Twelve" and "Ocean's Thirteen" were to "Ocean's Eleven." Just stay tried and true to a formula familiar to your target audience, toss in a few modifications here and there, and keep the pace up. As expected, the film lacks the freshness of the original, which housed a rising tide of comic madness that carried us along as we wondered just how loony the revelations would get. This time, the bar has been set. The movie has a running-to-catch-up-to-the-expectations feel, but does contain a few funny bits. It all culminates with the collection of photos that accompany the end credits, which have become the staple mark for these movies.
The setting has changed from Las Vegas to Bangkok, Thailand. The wedding of Stu (Ed Helms) to Lauren (Jamie Chung) is to the chagrin of his soon-to-be father-in-law. Stu wants no shenanigans like what went down in Vegas, so much so that the only bachelor party he allows himself cannot exceed the confines of an IHOP. ("See that? That's a glass of orange juice with a napkin on top. You know why the napkin is on top? So no one can roofie me.")
Stu needs this wedding to be perfect. He has invited his friends Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Doug (Justin Bartha) and, after a little bit of convincing, he reluctantly offers Alan (Zach Galifianakis) a plane ticket as well. Alan promises no hallucinogen-induced hijinks this time around, and even memorizes a series of "fun facts" about Thailand, though never quite masters the pronunciation of the country's name. The night before the big day, the gang gathers down at the beach for a seemingly harmless round of beers, accompanied by the bride's seventeen-year-old brother, Teddy (Mason Lee). The next morning, the boys find themselves in a sleazy Bangkok hotel in complete hangover mode. Teddy is missing, and the wedding is hours away.
The discoveries run the gamut of lunacy, including facial tattoos, shaved heads, a missing finger, a kidnapped monk, and a Marlboro monkey who looks unusually comfortable taking a drag. Some comic excavations evoke laughter, such as another tryst between Stu and a prostitute with slightly higher stakes, while other bits embody the puzzling, as when Alan meditates at a monastery and sees all the transpiring events but with kids in the main roles... the effect is more weird than funny.
Bradley Cooper plays Phil as a party coordinator who approaches binge-drinking antics the way a no-huddle quarterback handles an offense; he's just as resourceful getting the gang out of trouble as into it. Reprising his role as a self-described "stay-at-home-son," Zach Galifianakis meshes guilelessness, puerility and self-indulgence into its own art form. Ed Helms walks the line between sanity and catatonia upon some pretty embarrassing revelations. (After one such discovery, his words take the form of quasi-enunciations through a protracted groan.) The irrepressible Chow (Ken Jeong) is kneaded back into the plot, and Paul Giamatti has a small role as a mysterious crime boss in anticipation of a monetary transaction.
I don't know. "The Hangover: Part 2" gets laughs, but bends way over in the process. Director Todd Phillips and his writing team had to push the boundaries of taste to unprecedented levels to achieve passable comic effectiveness; this is about as far as they can go. At the absolute minimum, it should satisfy fans of the first one. And then there are those end credit pics.
* * 1/2 out of * * * * stars
