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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Hangover Part II (2011) in Movies

Sep 29, 2020 (Updated Oct 1, 2020)  
The Hangover Part II (2011)
The Hangover Part II (2011)
2011 | Comedy
Better than I remembered from the theater, but it's impossible not to notice that the pitch for this was just "the first movie... but worse!" The original will forever be one of my favorite comedies with an ingenious main plot device that I truthfully don't mind them at all reusing (an investigative 'search for clues' procedural wrapped into the raunchy comedy framing device of trying to figure what four drunk fucks did the night before) but I think they went too much 'crime movie' and not enough 'comedy movie' with this one. Has some laugh-out-loud moments but as everyone has already said they're few and far between, then the last 45 minutes of this devolves into everyone screaming and asking each other expository questions for the rest of the runtime. Though one thing I don't think even this franchise's supporters give these enough credit for is the acting. Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, and Ken Jeong are phenomenal both comedically and dramatically here and find a very reasonable balance between the two. Not to mention each of their respective performances is definable from one another and heavily idiosyncratic. But then you have crap like Bryan Callen in brownface, a monkey hanging out with them for half the movie, and Mike Tyson shows up and raps at the end. So you win some, you lose some I guess. Pretty lovingly depraved at least.
  
The Hangover (2009)
The Hangover (2009)
2009 | Comedy
The road trip gone awry has been a staple of Hollywood comedies for years. Bing Crosby and Bob Hope provided tons of laughs with their “Road To” films which have continued with films ranging from “Road Trip” to the Chevy Chase “Vacation” film series. In the new movie “The Hangover”, Director Todd Phillips follows upon his many successes which include “Old School”, and “Starsky and Hutch” to create one of the funniest films in recent memory.

When Doug (Justin Bartha) is about to be married, his friends Stu (Ed Helms) and Phil (Bradley Cooper) decide to give Doug a bachelor party. With his eccentric future brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifinakis) in tow, the guys hit the town for a night to remember. Or maybe not.

After a rooftop toast overlooking the scenic Las Vegas strip, Stu, Phil, and Alan awaken to find their lavish suite at Ceasar’s Palace destroyed and everything from a tiger to a chicken sharing their room. Henpecked Stu panics, having told his girlfriend they were going to wine country and is at a loss to explain the state of the room as well as his missing tooth. With all three men nursing a severe hangover and Doug nowhere to be found, things take a turn for the worse when a baby is discovered in the closet of their suite. Desperate to get to the bottom of the previous night and locate Doug, the guys try to piece together their lost night.

As the plot unfolds, the guys go from a wedding chapel to a hospital and police station, and trying to stay ahead of new threats and complications that arise. With Doug’s wedding looming in a few hours, the group takes extreme measures to find their friend and get him to the alter on time.

What follows is a hysterical and highly enjoyable comedy that rarely lets up long enough for you to stop laughing before unleashing even more comedy. The ensemble cast is strong and have great camaraderie and chemistry. The film loses some momentum in the final act but rebounds nicely with the final segments. Make sure you stay for the credits for some hysterical stuff and some great celebrity cameos. While some may find the humor crude and sophomoric, if you are not easily offended, you will laugh loud and often at this comedic delight.
  
The Hangover Part III (2013)
The Hangover Part III (2013)
2013 | Comedy
When “The Hangover” came out in 2009 it did so with modest expectations. Few critics expected it to become a box office smash much less the highest grossing R rated comedy of its time. Naturally a sequel followed and despite mixed reviews, “The Hangover 2” reaped in millions and vaulted over the original in terms of earnings. So, it was no surprise when “The Hangover 3” was announced and that the cast and writer/director Todd Phillips would be back again for the further adventures of The Wolfpack.

The films starts with dysfunctional Alan (Zach Galifianakis), creating a spectacular mess and being his usual spoiled and oblivious self though the consequences which have tragic ramifications. His friends Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Doug (Justin Bartha), decide that an intervention is needed and convince a reluctant Alan to get some help from a clinic in Arizona.

En route, the group is run off the road which results in Doug being held hostage by a criminal (John Goodman) who wants to use the group to bring in insane criminal Leslie Chow (ken Jeong). The group is told they have three days to find Chow and save Doug. It turns out Alan is the only one to have any contact with Chow since he was incarcerated. The guys soon find themselves in Tijuana hatching a desperate attempt to capture and return the demented Chow.

Naturally things do not go as planned and despite their best intentions the group only makes matters worse and sets a chain of events into action which bring them full circle in a race against time to save Doug.

This time out the film has ramped down the gross out humor of the first films aside for one epic scene following the credits. The film has some chuckles along the way but lacks the jaw dropping shock humor that defined the previous films. I spent the majority of the film enjoying the cast but waiting for the big comedic payoff to arrive which sadly did not come until the after-credits scene.

The cast works well with the material but it does seem like they have run out of ideas and are going through the motions. The addition of Melissa McCarthy does add some nice moments to the film and does leave open some ideas should they decide to continue the series despite promising that this is the conclusion. In the end it is a nice enough diversion but for me was neither as enjoyable nor memorable as the previous efforts.

http://sknr.net/2013/05/24/the-hangover-iii/