Thursday 2 June 2011

The Hangover II


Remember that one movie that came out in 2009 called The Hangover? Of course you do. It was only one of the most talked about films of the summer, surprising everyone as one of the funniest comedies in a long time. Two years later it was only fitting that a sequel be made so that we could relive the original Hangover fervor and kick off summer 2011 with a bang. Well, the basic rule of thumb for a sequel is that it either a) needs to be a continuation of the story from the first film or b) tell a new story with the same characters. The Hangover Part II decided to invent their own option c) which is to tell the exact same story all over again, but just changing a few details.

And that is what The Hangover Part II is. This time Stu, Alan, and Phil are in Bangkok, Thailand for Stu's wedding. The wolfpack reunites for another awesome bachelor party, this time brining along Stu's sixteen year old brother-in-law, Teddy. Stu promises only one beer and then he is calling it a night, but of course that isn't what happened or this wouldn't be The Hangover Part II. Nope. Once again a crazy night ensues and the boys wake up the next morning with absolutely no recollection of what happened the night before. They only have small clues to go off of, but they have no choice but to use these clues in order to find Teddy, who has gone missing. From here things play out much like they did in the first film with the same elements as the original. Instead of a tiger we have a monkey. Instead of a baby we have a monk. Instead of a regular Las Vegas hooker we have, well... I won't spoil that... ;)

I, like so many others, loved The Hangover. I was happily surprised by how funny and just how well made it was for a film that looked like it would be another silly comedy movie. Of course it was that but it had something great about the humour of the jokes and the cleverness of the mystery story that unfolds. The Hangover Part II doesn't quite have that and it only seems to try as hard as possible to outmatch its predecessor. It is this excessive one-upping of the first film that also drags down the films story. For one, it is just the same story all over again, but I can get past that because it worked in the first film. I won't say it wasn't annoying seeing so much of the same things happen all over again, but I'll get over it.

I was disappointed though because I loved the mystery aspect of the first film. The process of finding out where Doug was in the first film coupled with the incredibly entertaining humor was done just right. The Hangover Part II just tries so hard to go even further over-the-top that the mystery aspect here falls flat. It isn't nearly as interesting, thus the thing that made The Hangover more than just another comedy is lost in The Hangover Part II.

But The Hangover Part II doesn't suck. The hilarious lads are just as great in this film as they were in the first, and I never thought for a second that they were losing touch with their characters in the film's attempts to one-up the original. And honestly, this film really is funny. The comedy in this film isn't as clever as the first film, and it really sort of boils down to fart, poop, and dick jokes, but I love the characters of this film too much to not be entertained by that.

I won't say that I wasn't thoroughly entertained for the 102 minutes this film ran. But The Hangover Part II certainly doesn't live up to the hype and it doesn't even come close to the first film. As much as I laughed during this film I really just can't think of it as much more than just another comedy.

54 comments:

  1. i still want to see this, the first one was beyond hilarious

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  2. i dont really have high expectations for part II because of all the things you pointed out.
    But it's always like that.
    look at all the trilogies f.e.
    1.movie was superb
    2.kinda sucked bad
    3. better than second one but still not as good as the first one.

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  3. i didnt watch either one. did i miss out on something?

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  4. Haha, watched it yesterday, funnny stuff. First one was much better tho.

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  5. This was going to be one of those movies that was hard to follow up with a sequel, for sure. If it wasn't for the money involved, I wouldn't have even tried it if I was them.

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  6. Thanks for the great review. I seen the first one so Ill defo see this one.

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  7. can't wait to watch this!! :D

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  8. I won't be standing in any lines to see this. Looks like a Ben Stiller movie without Ben Stiller.

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  9. i havent seen this movie yet but i definitely want to =D

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  10. i havent made time to see it and im regretting it, gonna see it tomorrow

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  11. goin to theater tonight! :)

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  12. I hear it's as good as the first. Now downloading

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  13. i actually liked HO2 (hangover 2)

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  14. Lots of people talking about this movie, I still haven't seen the first one, I need to get on the ball.

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  15. Oh yeah, I remember the first movie.
    Can't wait for the next one! :D

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  16. cant wait for the movie :)

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  17. I havent seen it yet, but I will probably wait for the DVD.

    Following.

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  18. Watched it the other night. I was surprised by my fear of how awkward it would be. It was pretty enjoyable. :-)

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  19. I can't wait to see this. Zack G. is the greatest.

    Followed! comment back ;)

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  20. Man! I already bought 2 tickets!
    tomorrow im going to see this movie with my girlfriend
    Yay! :D

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  21. I am soooo watching this movie :D!!

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  22. Im not too sure if I should see it

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  23. hated the first one, i will not watch thiso ne

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  24. Hated the first one after my second view of it, but i'll give this one a shot, i mean it's 102 minutes, am i really that busy i can't spare that for even a mediocre movie?

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  25. I saw the first hangover, but I heard mixed reviews about the second part, mostly bad ones. So I didn't watch it =/

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  26. Everyone is saying the same things about this movie. I haven't seen the first one yet.

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  27. I'll go out and watch it anyway.

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  28. havent seen it yet but i will do it! thanks for the review

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  29. Great review, glad I went and watched Thor (Though Thor was pretty average in my opinion...)!

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  30. these films are always quite one dimensional, tho

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  31. Planning to watch this tomorrow with my bros :D

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  32. I cant fucking wait to watch this, I just got paid today (hangover time)

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  33. Very nice reading, keep posting my friend.

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  34. I heard it wasn't as good as the first, so I don't know... I still have not even seen the first one.

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  35. I haven't seen it yet. The first one was really good, but they're just trying to milk the money by running the same joke all over again. However, it was a very funny joke, and I'm going to see it just for pure laughs.

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  36. Heh doesn't sound to bad, not sure if i should watch this or the new pirates of Caribbean though..

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  37. Haha still yet to see it but very excited, keep on rolling them quality posts out, we love em :)

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  38. This movie is awesome! I like the transsexual

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  39. I've yet to see the first, so I'll definitely watch that before I catch number two

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  40. i loved the first one so i kinda wanna see the 2nd one. actually im pretty pumped.

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  41. Can't wait to see the second one this sunday I got time. :D

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  42. I love this movie... thanks for letting me follow you!

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  43. First one was brilliant, got low expectations for this one but going to see it tomorrow

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  44. Terrible movie man. . . .and I hear they have started making a third one

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  45. The first one was not really my style of humor. It's all just shy of slapstick. like a step above three stoodges... So, think i'll be skipping . but thanks!

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