The Hangover Part 2

By Shirley Genga

Director: Todd Phillips

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis

Runtime: 1hr 42 minutes

Genre: Comedy

Rating: 5/10

What more can these boys possibly do that they did not get to do in Vegas? Well, The Hangover Part 2 proves there are a lot more shenanigans that they can get absorbed in.

The film starts right after the Las Vegas bachelor party from the first film. This time around Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) travel to exotic Thailand for Stu’s wedding. After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu is taking no chances and has opted for a safe, subdued pre-wedding party.

However, things do not always go as planned. Phil, Stu and Alan wake up the next morning in a Bangkok hotel room while Doug is back at the wedding resort with Teddy who wakes up to find he has a missing a finger. Stu has a Mike Tyson-style tattoo on his face and the tiny angry gangster from the first film Mister Chow (Ken Jeong) has mysteriously joined them and they have somehow acquired a chain-smoking monkey. As before, they have to piece together the events of the previous night if they’re going to have any hope of finding Teddy. The only problem is,none of them can remember anything.

Thumbs Down

The first film was huge hit worldwide and this sequel is quite desperate to recreate the magic formula of the 2009 hit that it uses the exact same formula of the first movie. The film lazily substitutes all the plot elements from the first film for example: a tattoo instead of a missing tooth and a monkey instead of a tiger/baby. The main problem is that what may have been funny in the first film does not necessarily work the second time around.

Also some of the jokes are inappropriate. The film seems to have mastered the art of taking crude jokes to a whole other lower level.

Thumbs Up

It has some funny moments; film director Todd Phillips finds a way to create some of the same magic he did in the first film.

Also this time again Galifianakis manages to steal the spotlight from the rest of the cast with his brilliant performance as Alan.

Verdict

If you liked the first film and you are willing to fall in love again with the same formula then this is a must watch.