Film: The Hangover Part II (A)
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Paul Giamatti, Mason Lee, Jamie Chung, Justin Bartha
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: **
The trio that had us laughing our guts out in 2009 is back, and this time they’re in East Asia. Stu (Helms) is getting married to the girl of his dreams Lauren (Chung) in Thailand. While Phil (Cooper) is pissed off about the long flight, Doug (Bartha) wants his brother-in-law Allen (Galifianakis), who is sulking and waiting for an invite to his best friend Stu's wedding, to be invited. The "wolf pack" takes off for Thailand but this time, they have Lauren's underage brother Teddy (Lee) in their pack, much to Allen’s chagrin. The fact that Teddy is a child prodigy and a surgeon-to-be only adds to his irritation.
Still not recovered from the trauma of Doug's Vegas bachelor party, Stu conveniently wraps up his bachelor party at an iHop. However, two nights before the wedding, the "wolf pack" decides to get beer and some marshmallows by a beach fire, Doug and Teddy in tow. And we assume the adventure begins as they wake up in a random hotel room in Bangkok. What follows is a skeleton of the The Hangover dressed up in brand new garb.
There’s a drug peddling monkey, a lost member that the trio must find, a wedding in the waiting, drama, action, car chase, a transvestite stripper, police blah blah blah. Unlike the first film, this one completely lacks a surprise element and in fact becomes a bit too predictable. What works for the film though are the performances and the comic timing that the cast shares. Ken Jeong is absolutely delightful and refreshing.
All in all, The Hangover Part II has bad ass hangover of The Hangover and makes a forced attempt at squeezing the last drop of laughter out of the zaniness that was the plot of the first film. The film gives you a few giggles and guffaws but no, you won't be giggling randomly thinking of the movie weeks later. Maybe you will think of Mr Chow and giggle but that's about it.
The Bottom Line
What happens in Bangkok isn’t as much fun as when it happened in Vegas, but it’s still worth the trip.
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