"The Hangover: Part II" (2011) film review

Hey drunkards!

A wedding in Thailand, and no bachelor night? Who has the roofies?!?

Here's a lil background on the film, and my thoughts of it too.

About
Director: Todd Phillips
Main Stars: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis
Studio: Legendary Pictures, Green Hat Films
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
UK Release Date: 26 May, 2011
Running Time: 102 minutes

Brief Plot
It's Stu's turn to get married, but he opts not to have a bachelor night after what happened in the events of the previous film, The Hangover (2009). However, he's getting married in Thailand and after being convinced to have a drink by a fire on the hotel beach along with Doug, Phil, Alan, and his fiancée's 16 year old brother, Teddy... waking up to Phil, Alan, Stu, Teddy's finger, and a monkey, in an unfamiliar place with a very familiar situation.

[Click for the Trailer]

Review

I loved the last film. It was clean adult laughs (minus the credits scene) at a stage in my life when going wild is a rare option, and it was awesome fun throughout. I wouldn't call it an original idea, but it was presented in a way that managed to really capture the heart of funny predicaments which ceaselessly proceed. It was a complete laugh! Then Todd Phillips did Due Date (2010), and after all the hype I felt after The Hangover (2009), it couldn't even touch the feet of the pedestal I had placed Hangover on. It was so similarly styled, and it had Galifianakis in it, a character who worked but I grew tired of in that film, as well as the rest of the jokes in Due Date. Despite all the fun I had in Phillips' earlier work (Road Trip, Old School, and Starsky and Hutch), this concerned me for Hangover 2.

Alan, Phil, Teddy, Stu, and Doug

I like that Phillips had gone into this film deciding to not stray from the working formula in the first film, but at the same time he chose to up the ante of madness that would ensue in this one. The plot is simple, two days before a wedding a forgotten drunk night happens and a missing person is realised the next day, which is fair, as they presented it in a very different light. The opening was funny in how Phil calls Doug's wife informing her "it's happened again..." yet admitting it's worse, and immediately you see how she's with Stu's inlaws, a loving fiancée (portrayed by a gorgeous Jamie Chung) and her very disapproving father. I liked how when it flashes back a week earlier, you see a cautious Stu who isn't keen to do the bachelor night, and he takes amusing precautions to stop it... but there it is, several days later, they agree to have a drink, and chaos ensues.

Alan and Chow

However, I found myself mixed in this film. I found certain situations hilarious, but others completely unfunny, and in between I'd be chuckling or praying for it to move on. What struck me was this inconsistency, something I didn't really feel in the first one. It's a shame, because I think the actors did well of what was expected of them, the soundtrack choice was on par with the first, it was directed well, and I love the idea that they're in a city they don't understand at all. The story was cool, but the characters annoyed me in this film, predominantly Alan, Chow (Ken Jeong returning from the first film), and to some extent even Stu.

Maybe if they changed from 'same formula, bigger stakes' to 'different formula, same stakes' I would enjoy it more. Perhaps I'm small for finding characters - whom some love - to be a bigger presence in this film, not a great idea (reminds me of how The Simpsons began using Homer's oafishness to be the highlight fun of the week, when really it was a collaboration of strong family-characters bundled into solid family situations that I loved, taking away those magic moments of Homer's stupidity) but for its flaws, there are still great laughs, and it can be enjoyable.

Overall Rating
Same plot, different gags, and a stronger presence of the annoying characters who are enjoyable in little bites, but not as the main meal. A likeable film with solid laughs, but not as stand-out as its predecessor, in my opinion. There will be people who love this, and maybe those who hate it. I simply just liked.

6/10

Watch if You Liked...

• The Hangover (2009)
• Due Date (2010)

Seen the film? What are your thoughts? Where would you go or what would you do for a bachelor/bachelorette party?

Share your thoughts!

-Harish, out

The 'Original Four'