The Hangover: Part II: Review

So you have one of the biggest sleepers of the summer of 2009, you make a huge profit at the box office with a comedy that is original, clever, witty and very funny. You make the studio who produce your film so happy, they slap a handful of more money to make a sequel. So you change the setting and put the same loveable characters into the exact same situation again, only this time you remove the originality, cleverness, wittiness and any redeemable laughs. Thus you have The Hangover Part II, an example of how not to make a sequel.

Stu, the dentist, is getting married to a beautiful woman in Thailand. He and his buddies, super smooth Phil, previous groom Doug and unwanted party crasher Alan head down to the beach with the bride's younger brother, Teddy, for a beer. They wake up in a strange hotel room. Doug is at the hotel having breakfast wondering where his friends went to. They don't have a clue. They also don't have Teddy. They once again have to put the pieces together of the night before in order to find the missing young man.

Yes, it is the same plot and this is the film's downfall. The first film took an interesting concept of a drunken stag night and threw in a whole host of clues that the gang had to put together. They do exactly the same thing here so all the surprises you got in movie one have gone completely. So have all the characters likeability.

Bradley Cooper, who seems to have nothing much to do but look cool, does that fine but that's all he does. Ed Helms as the dentist Stu screeches and screams while Zach Galifanakis has turned Alan into just a complete idiot and while he is the saving grace, he is nothing more than an annoyance. Ken Jeong is given a bigger piece of the pie this time as the drug dealing Mr Chow and he almost steals the film with one hilarious rendition of a 70s soft rock song in a lift that is ruined by the interruption of Alan.

This is another problem. None of the jokes actually work. They all seem desperate and in most cases, the time is completely out. Considering that it is the same team and cast as the original, you would have thought they'd know how to deliver a joke but they think screaming and slapstick are the heart of hilarity. They are not.

One or two scenes work. A tattooist (who was suppose to be Mel Gibson until the cast disagreed) has the funniest line, while the scene where the guys interview an exotic dancer is also a highpoint. Two out a film that last 101 minutes just isn't good enough. It makes it all the more depressing when you know there could be such great comedy in this instead of a lame remake.

This is almost certain to make tons of money at the box office which is a shame because it will then mean we will get a third outing. Really, if you want my advice, get the original and stick with it. You will have far more fun and you'd save some money and hopefully stop the team from making another massive turkey.