There is no real reason to watch The Hangover Part II unless you’re a huge fan of the original (like us). The indie Todd Phillips film, about a night of drunken debauchery gone horribly, horribly wrong, was the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time when it was first released in the summer of 2009 in the States. While the sequel isn’t nearly as fresh or as funny as the original, it still gets plenty of good mileage out of what is essentially the exact same joke—although the stakes are inevitably higher this time round and the setup much cruder and OTT.
So here we go again: It’s nerdy dentist Stu’s (Ed Helms) turn to get hitched, with the wedding set to take place in Thailand where his fiancée Lauren’s (Jamie Chung) parents are from. But Stu doesn’t want an elaborate bachelor party after what went down in Las Vegas the last time, settling instead for a quiet brunch with his two best friends Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Doug (Justin Bartha). In fact, he hasn’t even invited the socially awkward Alan (Zach Galifianakis, again, the real star of the show) to the wedding, but after much persuading by the other two, Stu begrudgingly agrees to let him tag along. When they arrive in Thailand, he’s pressured once again into having a drink with the group to celebrate … only to wake up in the morning to discover “it’s” happened all over again. Alan’s head has been shaved, Stu is sporting a replica of Mike Tyson’s infamous face tattoo from the first film, and Lauren’s baby brother, Teddy (Mason Lee), is missing, save for his ring finger, which Phil discovers floating in a bucket of water in a decrepit Bangkok motel.
So yeah, it’s basically just a retread of the first film, and Phillips doesn’t try to hide it—good and bad. In fact, he practically embraces the absurdity that this could happen to the same group of guys again by making their Las Vegas trip seem like child’s play in comparison. Even the structure of the movie (right down to the photo slideshow at the end) is the same, although their Bangkok adventure is considerably more depraved and demented—like Stu having sex with a tranny and the inclusion of a denim-wearing, chain-smoking and drug-dealing monkey with a penchant for licking private parts. Fortunately, the hilarious character Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) from the original returns as well, and his scenes are without a doubt some of the funniest parts of the film, if a little forced all the same. Pair all that with Zach Galifianakis’ oddball Alan, and you have one hoot of a film. Too bad about the lazy setup though.
Check out what Director Todd Phillips thought about the film and shooting in Bangkok.