Tuesday, November 26, 2024

THE HANGOVER PART TWO

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
The wolf pack is back, but this time the bachelor party is taken overseas in the comedy sequel THE HANGOVER 2.

This time around, Stu is the one tying the knot, with Phil, Doug and Alan along for the ride again, this time in Thailand. Stu, not wishing for another repeat of their stint in Vegas, elects for a bachelor party brunch at I-HOP before they leave the states. This won’t due as far as Phil is concerned, so following the rehearsal dinner, he convinces his buddies, and Stu’s soon-to-be 16-year-old brother-in-law, to join him for one beer around the campfire before packing it in for the night.

One-beer, and several hours later, Phil, Stu and Alan find themselves hung over in a seedy Bangkok motel, minus Teddy, but not his finger. With little time to spare before the wedding, the threesome hit the streets in search of Teddy.

THE HANGOVER TWO is almost a carbon copy of the original, taking almost identical situations and events and magnifying the absurdity for maximum laughs. This is blatantly intentional from the set-up, a toast; the morning after, a severe hangover in a trashed hotel room; and a lost member of the wedding party. These are just a few of the many similarities between THE HANGOVER and THE HANGOVER PART TWO.

Although the replica plot leaves little surprises, the laughs come fast and furious thanks to a screenplay with dialogue-driven humor, and a cast who’s camaraderie is matched only by its insanity. In many ways, THE HANGOVER PART TWO serves as a highly successful situation comedy. We’ve been there, and done that, but watching the same characters jump through the hoops once again elicits a tremendous amount of laughs due to the built in personalities of the wolf pack, and the heightened attitude and intensity in director Todd Phillips films.

The talented cast of comics returns, with Ed Helms still apprehensive and conservative as Stu, Bradley Cooper back as the school teacher gone wild Phil and Zach Galifinakis reprises his role of Alan, the somewhat naïve, awkward and always inappropriate brother-in-law of Doug (who again is an afterthought).

Although THE HANGOVER PART TWO doesn’t earn high marks for creativity, it does score thanks to writer-director Todd Phillips no-holds barred screenplay and direction, and a cast who’ll do anything for a laugh.

Grade: B

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