The Cinemasochist takes a look at movies that have been notoriously rejected by the mass populace, and tells you if you might perchance be missing a classic. Or not.
Given that nobody was really expecting The Hangover to be anything more than a modest success, plans for a sequel were not firmly in place all along. But after it ran away with the box office and shot its formerly-second-banana cast into stardom, a followup was inevitable. And so everyone involved in The Hangover Part II seems uncomfortably obligated to be there.
Paychecks must have been formidable, since there was no sequel clause in anyone's contract and the cast, many of whom have since become big names (Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong), has reunited nonetheless. I have a feeling that what happened with the film was that the producers decided to forgo any new direction to take the characters in, and follow the old Hollywood principle: if there's no story to continue, replicate it.
This principle usually works better with horror films than with any other genres. A series like Final Destination can continue forever with the same formula, so long as it keeps coming up with creative ways for its characters to die. It doesn't work so well with comedy, which relies heavily on spontaneity and novelty. Therefore, when the events of The Hangover are essentially repeated in The Hangover Part II, there are very few laughs to be had. The first Hangover was an exciting, consistently surprising comedy that moved with cruel logic, and took delight in hurling its harried characters through each twist and turn. When the sequel follows pretty much the same path, the surprises are gone, there is little at stake and the characters seem ready to give up.
Some time after the events of the first film, there's another wedding to prepare for. This time it's mild-mannered dentist Stu (Helms) who's getting married, to the lovely Lauren (Jamie Chung). Lauren is Thai, which means the wedding will be in Bangkok, which is music to the ears of Phil (Cooper), who insists on throwing a bachelor party, much to Stu's chagrin. Along with the pitiable Alan (Galifianakis) and Lauren's genius 16-year-old brother Teddy (Mason Lee), the boys settle for a beer on the beach instead... and then wake up the next morning in a run-down hotel with Teddy missing and only his severed finger remaining.
As in the first film Phil, Stu, and Alan follow what few clues they have to put their night together and find Teddy. Their quest follows the arc of the first film very closely. Phil takes the alpha male role. Stu finds himself with a facial deformity that will be tough to ignore come wedding time. Alan runs his mouth. They inexplicably meet up with the mob boss Mr. Chow (Jeong) from the first film. The film is so desperate to replicate its predecessor that even Mike Tyson returns as himself.
What happens in the film may be played for laughs, but what was fresh in the earlier film is now stale. Watching this sequel is like having the first film explained to you by someone who doesn't know how to tell a joke. The characters go through a lot of slapstick-level pain, but the laughs aren't there. Even Galifianakis, the major discovery of the first film, seems to have given up. Soon into this film, we feel about Alan the same way that most of the other characters do: annoyed.
The star power involved in the film is good for a few amusing moments. Nick Cassavetes has fun as a tattoo artist, as does Paul Giamatti as a crime lord. Tyson's cameo gets a good laugh, and is one of the few unexpected moments in the movie.
The movie was written by Craig Mazin, a good comedy writer whose Superhero Movie was surprisingly clever (and not part of the Jason Friedberg/Aaron Seltzer "Movie" series). His co-writers are director Todd Phillips and frequent collaborator Scot Armstrong, who are usually ept at character comedy, having made Road Trip, the overrated but amusing Old School, and the entertaining semi-spoof Starsky & Hutch. These are sound comic minds who were obviously told early in the process that The Hangover worked, and they should just do that again. And that's what they did.
* out of ****
Is it really that bad?: Yes.
Pain Level: Moderate to sharp. Urge to fast-forward strong throughout.
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