The Hangover 2

The Hangover took the world by storm. It starred 3 not-that-famous guys, it rehashed Dude. Where's my car's plot and went on to become the highest grossing R Rated comedy of all time and I believe the third or fourth top grossing R Rated movie of all time. It was hilarious, but not super raunchy, so it had that mass appeal. Something about the chemistry of those three, mixed with a baby, a tiger, Mike Tyson and some serious memory loss resonated with the public. I loved it, as well. It has physical comedy, ridiculous situations, really funny lines and a genuinely interesting story. The Hangover could have been recut as a mystery film very easily. There was no way a sequel was not going to happen. Hollywood knows how to cash in on money making properties better than anything. The teaser trailer hinted at nothing but a very dirty Bangkok. The trailer looked like a complete retread of The Hangover and that actually suited me perfectly. With INSANE box office numbers in the opening weekend, it is clear The Hangover 2 will lead to a Hangover 3, but is it funny?

Opening with another messed up phone call about how they lost someone, Phil(Bradley Cooper), Stu(Ed Helms) and Alan(Zack Galifinakis) are at it again. There is a wedding, this time Stu is getting married to a ridiculously hot Asian girl(Jaime Chung) and as Stu has not forgotten what happened the last time this crew threw a bachelor party, he refuses to have one. Instead, Stu, Phil, Alan, Doug(Justin Bartha) and Stu's soon to be brother-in-law, Teddy(Mason Lee) grab one beer and have some marshmallows. Next thing they know, the Wolfpack is in a dingy motel room with Chow, a finger without a body and no memory. Thus repeats the pattern. The guys empty their pockets, go to a strip club, a tattoo parlor, a monk monastery, hook up with a chain smoking, drug dealing monkey. They get mixed up in the Russian mob, an Armenian arms dealer and Paul Giamatti. Oh, the person they lost is Teddy.

If you are looking for variety, go somewhere else. The Hangover 2 follows the comic, mystery and ridiculous beats from The Hangover exactly. In fact, the movie plays more like a remake than a sequel, but that is just fine with me. This is a ride I am willing to take as often as they offer it. It is just a flat out funny time. Cooper, Helms and Galifinakis make such a great comic team and they are all very much game for whatever director Todd Phillips throws at them and it makes for such an awesome adventure. I love the reactions from the characters as shit just gets crazier and crazier. yes, it is absolute stupid that this nonsense keeps happening to these same three guys, but that is a big part of what makes the second film work. These guys cannot believe this shit is happening either.

Helms is, of course, on the receiving end of most of the wildest stuff. I almost wish the face tattoo had not been revealed in the trailer, because it would be such a great reveal, but that pales in comparison for the raunchiest, funniest, nastiest thing that happens in this movie. That is what The Hangover 2 has going for it. It's raunch is actually hilarious, unlike Bridesmaids. Cooper still plays Phil as the ultimate Go-With-the-Flow attitude that helped bring levity to The Hangover and Helms is even better this time around as Stu. He is so perfectly over the top in how much he cannot believe what has happened to him. In fact, the movie goes to a petty dark place momentarily with Stu and in the third one, I hope they come back to it. Galifinakis makes Alan the right mixture of asshole and helpless child which is becoming his specialty.

I loved the flashback with the guys as kids doing the debauchery. It was a nice touch and the photos at the end are even more insane than the last time and I really liked that Doug was still around. This movie seemed less focused on the mystery and more on the insanity of what these guys do when they get black out nuts and that was fine because the kid playing Teddy did not matter much to me. I got the point of him, but I think the stakes did not matter as much to me this time. The cameo at the end is great, even though I totally should have seen it coming and really, the only negative thing I can say about this movie was that I did not come out of it with as many quotable lines. It is probably not going to be as memorable as the Hangover.

Final Grade: A-

P.S. This movie makes me want to avoid Bangkok at all costs, whereas The Hangover made me want to fly to Vegas as soon as the movie was over.