Written by Craig Mazin & Scot Armstrong & Todd Phillips
Directed by Todd Phillips
We all knew it was coming. People were begging for it by the amount of money they spent on the first film. So what exactly did everyone who hated The Hangover 2 expect? A wildly different movie that wasn't about them getting a hangover and waking up in a strange place, unaware of what they did the night before? A sequel if there ever was one, The Hangover 2 is exactly what it should be, a remake of the first film in spirit, with new locations, characters, situations, and laughs.
Apparently, critics are not aware that comedy is critic-proof, that pointing out loose plot threads in a movie about guys getting so wasted they destroy entire towns is like screaming at a turkey that's it's stupid. It knows. It still doesn't care. And apparently neither do fans, pushing The Hangover 2 to the number one movie of the weekend, and outgrossing the first film at this point. With that said, does it matter if nobody liked it? The third film is already in the works, to be much hated by critics I assume, long before it even comes out.
Awake, and hung over, this time in Bangkok, Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zack Galifianakis), and Phil (Bradley Cooper) think they may have avoided any serious damage the night before, despite their lack of recollection. Until they find the finger. Which leads them to explore the who, what, and where of the night before. This time, Stu is supposed to be getting married to the gorgeous and ridiculously understanding Lauren (Jamie Chung, who was underutilized here) in a quiet corner of Thailand.
However, before leaving, Doug (Justin Bartha) and Phil manage to guilt Stu into going to talk to Alan, who considers them all his best friends, and has been desperately waiting for an invitation to Stu's wedding, which he won't ever get, until he manages to pout his way into a last minute invitation and is quickly along for the ride.
Insisting he doesn't want any repeats, Stu settles for a bachelor party in the form of brunch at IHOP, terrified of being roofied yet again. Once they arrive in Thailand though, it's on Lauren's insistence that he joins his friends for a beer around the camp fire on the beach that sets in motion the near-destruction of Bangkok.
The next day, Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) is back in one of the best movie entrances of all time. The big difference in this movie from the last one is the way Mr. Chow is played and viewed by the characters. In the first film, the joke is he's no criminal at all. Here, he's actually carved some type of niche out for himself, and it's odd to see Mr. Chow have so much influence on the characters. However, for the sake of the plot, it's a fun direction, and everything the guys get into this time around seems to be darker and weirder, which I found appropriate given the Bangkok setting.
I felt it all kept pace with The Hangover, in terms of how many laughs are in the film, and at the end of the day, that's my only real requirement for a comedy film. Toss in likeable characters that we already love, and give them some different angles to spin into, and you have a very fun film. As always, some of the biggest laughs come at the very end of the film, where we finally get to see everything the guys took a picture of all night, the grand payoff for the mysterious night.
8.6 (B+)
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