Monday 30 May 2011

The Hangover Part II

As the world continues to tighten its belt, financially speaking, director Todd Phillips has done his bit for the economy by saving money on a new story for his crazy Wolfpack and curling out a near shot-for-shot remake of his overrated 2009 hit. He's even taken it as far as not spending any money on jokes, leaving one-man LOL-machine Zach Galifianakis to elicit laffs by doing hilarious things like speaking, falling over and having a big beard but no hair on the top of his head.
Perhaps worried that somebody might notice the deceit, Phillips has made a subtle change by relocating the action from Las Vegas to Bangkok, which is, like, such a mental place to be. I don't know where the series goes from here: The Hangover Part III will have to be set on Jupiter if it's going to top the sheer unbelievable craziness of being set in a place where everyone looks and talks funny.

Fortunately Thailand is a place with infinite comedic possibilities. You won't believe this because it's so mind-blowingly original, but there's actually a gag in The Hangover Part II that involves ladyboys. I mean, that's pretty out there, right? And what's so great about this gag is that it gives our lovable heroes the chance to carry out some shouting, which is funny in any language. That must be why there's so much of it in this film.

I didn't actually hate The Hangover Part II for the majority of its running time, despite it clearly being complete bollocks, I just didn't care about it. All that changed spectacularly in the epilogue when, for no reason at all, everyone's favourite ear-chewing convicted rapist made an unwelcome reappearance and delivered possibly the worst few minutes of cinema I've seen in a long time. Still, convicted rapists being lionised is funny in any language, right?
And then, just to ensure I left the cinema with a really bad taste in my mouth, one of the photographs of the "forgotten" night that plays through the end credits (you know, exactly like in the first film) is a played-for-laughs recreation of the infamous "Murder Of A Vietcong By Saigon Police Chief" photograph from the Vietnam War. Because parodying the appalling horror of war in a film full of dick jokes is funny in any language.

Final thought
The Godfather Part II is a portion of a whole that is separate or distinct. Back To The Future Part II is a portion of a whole that is separate or distinct. It's probably fair to say that even Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will be a portion of a whole that is separate or distinct. The Hangover Part II, however, is absolutely not a portion of a whole that is separate or distinct. It's a massive pile of shit.

10 comments :

  1. Brilliantly written review. I didn't think the movie was a pile of shit (I laughed enough times to make me not regret seeing it), but "I just didn't care about it" pretty much summed it up for me. The script is really lazy, and I left feeling pretty unfulfilled despite largely enjoying the film as I was watching it. And you're right, Tyson's appearance in both films feels a bit twisted...at least in the first movie he was funny though. Here, it just seems desperate.

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  2. I thought the first movie was decent (though definitely, as you indicate, overrated), and I also laughed a lot ot "Due Date" -- but there was something about the trailers for "The Hangover Part II" that made me actively want to NOT see it.

    And that something was Ken Jeong, who is as repellently unfunny as anyone who has become a comedic "star" since Rob Schneider.

    That said, I don't begrudge anyone who goes to see this their larfs. God knows, the world needs 'em, even if they make me squint and shake my head.

    Also, since I work at a movie theatre, I suppose I should be glad for ANYTHING being as big a hit as this movie has been so far ... keeps me employed, so keep 'em coming. I'll be happy to sell you a $10 pocorn-n-Coke when you get there.

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  3. Crouching Jeong Hidden Shit. From all that's been written here this movie gets my TiVo style red thumb down.

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  4. Great review and agree with most of it. Loved the first one, but thought this was a horrible movie, really a waste of my money.

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  5. I have not seen The Hangover or The Hangover Part Two, and I shall continue to assume that each film is no more or less than a 90-minute Gap Yah sketch.

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  6. I think everyone should cool down. Comparing Ken Jeong to Rob Schneider? Things have gotten out of hand.Watch Community and re-evalauate your comedy ranking system. Thanks

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  7. HAHAHA! This is a brilliant review. I actually had fun in the theaters with it, but I have to admit that everything you said here is just spot on. Your angry humor is hilarious.

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  8. Marge Gunderson31 May 2011 at 21:52

    Crikey, do they really spoof that famous photo from the Vietnam War? That is such unbelievably bad taste. Haven't seen the first one, won't be seeing this one either.

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  9. Just read this review. Bang on.

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