The makers of THE HANGOVER 2 knew that they would have to up the ante considerably to justify another long strange trip with The Wolfpack. Alas, rather than wait for a suitably upped ante, or any ante at all, they decided to do a retread of the original, this time without the laughs, substituting humor for seeing how much they could get away with before the MPAA slapped them with an NC-17.
Theyve also ditched the prostitute who opened the eyes of repressed dentist Stu (Ed Helms) in the original. Instead, theyve given Stu a new fiancee, Lauren (Jaime Chung), of Thai extraction, and thus providing an excuse for setting the action in Bangkok. As with so much else, it is the flimsiest of excuses for what happens, though if what happened were funny, wacky, and/or delightfully anarchic, all would be forgiven. Further alas, the Russian drug dealers, the monkey worn, despite the heat, as a fashion accessory by Phil (Bradley Cooper), the slap-happy Buddhist monks, and the bar girl with ambiguous charms have the smell of flop sweat about them, making the prevailing audience reaction not amusement, never mind outright guffaws of laughter, but rather a depressing, collective experience of wondering if the film is really going to try to get away with the jokes on offer, and how much further it will it push said jokes that were weak and obvious to being with. Or incomprehensible. At one point, Alan (Zach Galifianakis) flashes back to highlights of his immediate past with all the guys appearing as 12-year-olds. Huh?
What was fun the first time is decidedly stale this time. Stu, Phil, and Alan once again wake up in a seedy hotel room with no memory of how they got there, surrounded by the detritus of the debauchery that took place the night before, including a tattoo on Stus face, a severed finger that may or may not belong to Teddy (Mason Lee) the brides missing baby brother, and Mr Chow (Ken Jeong), abetting several more Asian stereotypes. Phil is manfully obnoxious without any of the charisma from the first film, Alan is weirdly obnoxious with none of the subversive edge, yet Stu, in the loving hands of Helms, maintains a whimsical sweetness in even the most sordid of situations. He also makes his uncanny ability to scream like a little girl utterly adorable. Unfortunately, he, like the audience, is saddled with the others, who have decided to make the risky choice of being completely unlikable while also being completely unfunny.
THE HANGOVER 2, on the other hand, has a few funny moments, as in single digits and none of which, aside from Helms, seem to be on purpose. This roiling effort is a lazy excrescence. The flicks catch-phrase is Bangkok has them now. Bangkok can keep them all.
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