The Hangover Part 2 Review

I remember when I first saw the trailer for The Hangover back in, what 2009? Doesn’t matter. Anyways, I thought the movie looked pretty funny. How could it not be? It had Davis from Tru Calling, that massive douche bag from Wedding Crashers, Riley from National Treasure, some other guy I never saw before, but seemed very funny, and was directed by the guy who made Old School. Little did I know how much fun that movie would be, and that I would know every one of those actors by name before my second viewing. The Hangover was an incredibly fun and funny movie.

Sadly, the Hangover Part 2’s trailer didn’t fill me with confidence. I laughed and all, but there was the unmistakably strange sense of familiarity. Other than the offensive reminders that this is totally a sequel (lines like, “It happened again!”), this could have been the trailer for the first movie. When I saw the negative reviews confirming my suspicions of a rehash, I avoided the movie. One of my friends, however, wanted to see it, so I thought, why not? If only I could travel back in time and kick past me in the balls.

The Hangover 2 is a terrible movie. It isn’t worth writing a review for, but since I have spare time, why not? Damn it! It’s that kind of thinking that got me into that theatre to see this piece of shit in the first place. Let’s start out with the positives, the main cast gives great performances all around, despite the shamefully unfunny material, its filmed competently and has one very funny scene taking place at an IHOP. Okay there we go, now on to the bad parts.

The most obvious crime the Hangover Part 2 commits is that the story is identical to the Hangover 1’s story, barring a few minor differences. Instead of Doug getting married, it’s Stew. Instead of Doug going missing, it’s Teddy, Stew’s future brother in law. Now, you would think that at very least, given the set up, we could actually get Doug involved in the plot searching for Teddy, but noooo. Instead he takes on the role his fiancé (now pregnant wife) had in the last movie, except for in the opening scene which is identical to the opening scene in the first movie. It’s funny that the opening scene is identical, because it certainly isn’t misleading viewers for what’s in store for the rest of movie.

Hangover 2 goes for a darker, grittier, edgier gravitas, but it’s all for naught because we’re not watching a crime drama. We’re supposed to be watching a comedy, though considering the amount of laughs this half assed sequel generates, it may as well have been a crime drama. Hangover 1 understood something very important. Boundaries. Now, nobody wants to see a Hangover that doesn’t borderline on being too extreme, but the first movie had a certain plausibility. Hangover 2 takes these characters and the viewers so far beyond the boundaries of extreme, its flat out tasteless. You remember when Phil thought he was raped in Hangover? Wasn’t it a relief to find out he wasn’t? Don’t get used to that feeling. It’s worse than it sounds.

Allen, too has suffered from either following the Hangover 1’s script too closely or being taken too far to the extreme. Allen has not been changed at all from the events of the last movie. He’s still a loser, still a degenerate, and still has no friends. You would think that the Doug, Phil and Stew would at least be a little bit more friendly with the guy (well maybe not Stew), but once again, his sister has to pressure poor pussy whipped Doug into bringing him along to Stew’s wedding. I would like to point out that I can’t blame Doug for being pussy whipped. Hell, we should all be so lucky to be enslaved by Sasha Barrese. What’s worse in Allen’s case is that he has lost all of his cuddly charm and has been devolved into a pathetic and damn near sociopathic asshole. I don’t remember Allen being such a jackass in HO1, except for that one bit with his father’s car at the gas station.

To conclude, Hangover Part 2 is nothing more than a poorly executed sequel that merely cashes in on the success of its predecessor. The heart, charm and soul has been ripped out in favor of a bigger cast, more effects, and a helicopter. There is very little humor to be found, but don’t worry, they’ve replaced the comedy with penises, so I’m sure everyone will be satisfied with that right? If you were lucky enough to not see Hangover 2 quite yet and magically stumbled on my blog to read your first review of the movie, do yourself a favor: DO NOT SEE HANGOVER PART 2. You have been warned.

I give Hangover Part 2 an ironic 2 out of 10.

The Good

Virtually everyone from Hangover 1 returns, including Jeffery Tambor and Mike Tyson

Good acting despite the lack of humor

The IHOP Scene

The Bad

Same plot, structure, narrative devices and beats as Hangover 1

Doug sidelined for no reason at all

Darker, grittier and edgier for no real reason

Allen suffers from minor character derailment

Lacks the same charm and soul as Hangover 1

Very few laughs. Serving Sarah was funnier. That reaches a new level of fail.

Way too many penises

Some jokes are a little too extreme, others are way too extreme.

There’s going to be a Hangover 3