What happens?
The wolfpack is back and this time they bring the party to Thailand. The original cast returns Bradley Cooper (Phil), Ed Helms (Stu), Zach Galifianakis (Alan) and Justin Bartha (Doug) all return to play the characters we loved in the first movie. Like the first movie the sequel follows the exact same premise as the original, I guess if it's not broken don't fix it right? The Hangover Part II manages to follow the same story as the first film, with just a change of location and addition of a few new characters the movie still holds up. In the first film we follow Phil, Stu and Alan waking up in a daze, trying to piece together what happened the night before. All while trying to find their friend Doug before his wedding starts, The sequel makes a few changes but overall its the same. The film opens up with Phil making a phone call explaining how they "Fucked up" again. Taking place roughly two years after the first movie, this time the boys travel to Thailand for Stu's wedding. Stu still recovering from the previous events, decides he doesn't want a bachelor party. Having decided instead to have a bachelor brunch at iHop just so things don't escalade like last time. While in Thailand, just like in the previous film the night ends with the group having one drink. After that one drink everything goes down hill and its up to the group to try and figure out what happened, and where Teddy (Mason Lee / Stu's fiancee's younger brother) is.
Are the characters the same?
One noticeable change has been made to the character Alan. While in the first movie he was funny man child who meant well, in this film he isn't as charming. Most of the time Alan is acting out in a bratty manner, making him say and do things that are completely uncalled for. While in the first movie everything he did was in good spirit, in this film truth be told he's a bit of a douche. Acting in such ways that make you question why Phil and Stu don't just call him out on his attitude, or better yet beat him. Although they sort of barely touch upon why he's acting out, since Vegas the group hasn't really hung out with him making him "sad". That's still not enough, there are countless scenes where Alan is completely messing things up for everyone. To the point where it's obvious to anyone with a brain, that he's doing it on purpose. Basically if you've seen the movie Due Date and remember Galifianakis' character, thats pretty much who Alan has become. For those who didn't see it, in Due Date Galifianakis' character was this needy, bratty, stuck up man child who always messed things up. Most of the time Alan is acting out because of his new found rivalry. A rivalry with Teddy, feeling threaten and jealous that Teddy is getting in the way of the Wolfpack. Even though his character has changed and became a little annoying, Alan is still one of the funniest characters in the film with some scenes reminding you of the Alan from Vegas. Doug still doesn't play a major role in the film, Instead Mr. Chow's role got extended to be more of a main character. Alan and Mr. Chow have formed a close friendship, which at times is seen as questionable. Phil remains as the cool easy going leader of the group, and Stu is still the nerdy and when drunk, crazy one.
Isn't this the same movie as the first? What's new?
The Hangover Part II is basically the first film with a location change, however thats not necessarily a bad thing. Like the first film this one is still funny, not to mention they bring back one of my favorite characters Mr. Chow! Also like the first film you barely see Doug, which I thought was a shame. Doug as character seemed like the only one with common sense and the one who was able to hold the group together in this film. But Doug being gone the movie moves on and misfortune falls upon the group again. Alan wakes up with a bald head, Stu wakes up to find a Mike Tyson face tattoo and Phil wakes up with barely any damage. Is it just me or is Phil always the one that has to look cool? While the others wake up to find something wrong with them, Phil just has a little bit of red eyes. Making him able to wear his cool Bruce Lee like sun glasses almost the whole film. Also like in the first film they do have a stolen animal involved. This time the tiger has been replaced with a drug dealing gay monkey, who really makes the movie funnier. As for whats new, well theres not much thats new to be honest. Besides the location and new fiancee the movie is exactly the same.
Whats the problem?
Where the film has it's problems is in the characters. Some characters just act or say things that are unbelievable in those situations. For example Alan's speech at the dinner, that would never happen in reality because no one would tolerate it. Another example would be how Stu's fiancee's (Jamie Chung) father speaks to him. Giving him nothing but harsh words in public events, no man would just take that then again it is Jamie Chung so I guess I would too. The film itself is funny, would I go as far as saying funnier than the first? For some scenes that resemble the previous films yes, but overall? No. While The Hangover Part II is funny, there's just not enough original material there. The group is still funny, the situations are still hilarious but you have seen all of this before. The film also follows the originals structure closely when it comes to the situations the guys get into, down to the group looking at photos of what happened the night before. But lets be honest those photos are one of the best parts in the movie. Even if this movie is mirroring the original, it's still full of laughs and filled with funny dialogue. There's a certain situation that happens to the character Stu, that is in my opinion the funniest thing in the movie. I won't spoil it, but lets just say "That's why they call it Bangkok".
The Score and Final Thoughts :
The Hangover Part II is a hard movie for me to score. While it did its job and made me laugh, I couldn't help the overpowering feeling that I already saw this movie. The only way I can properly score this film is by giving it two ratings. The Hangover Part II gets a Low Ticket Price and a High Rental. Low Ticket Price because the film is funny and does have a good time and manages to never leave you bored. If you see this movie in Theaters go with a big group of friends, or make sure that theater is packed. If it's packed and the audience is good the movie will be that much better. A High Rental because lets be honest the first one was original. The sequel tries to hit the same punch lines and even spends the first ten-twenty minutes of the movie reminding you of the first one. In no shape or form is this a bad film by any means, it's a comedy and the best one out right now. Personally I loved this movie, I thought it was hilarious. Not to mention the character Mr. Chow has a bigger and better role in this movie it hit every joke fantastically, I just wish they had done a little bit more.
