For the most part, sequels are a bad idea. At least, they are a bad idea as far as the the general audience is concerned. Sequels and remakes drain away resources that could have gone into making original projects that probably had a better shot of being decent films than most sequels and remakes do. Sadly, sequels and remakes are a large percentage of what you find in theaters these days, especially now in what is called the Summer Movie Season despite Summer still being three weeks off. All we can really do is try to make the best with what we have and "making the best" is where The Hangover Part II comes in. Not that Hangover Part II is the best, mind you. It's not nearly as funny as the 2009 hit it's trying its hardest to copy. Still, it does have enough laughs and entertainment value to rate at least a mild recommendation and, really, that was the best for which we could hope.
This movie isn't so much a sequel as it is the same movie with some names and locations changed. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis are back as Phil, Stu and Alan, the trio who went on an insane tour of Las Vegas two years earlier trying to find their pal Doug (Justin Bartha) whom they has misplaced during a blackout caused by an inadvertant drugging at Doug's bachelor party. Director Todd Phillips wanted to take this story in a new, exciting direction so, instead of blacking out at Doug's bachelor party, this time around they are inadvertantly given drugs and blackout at Stu's bachelor party. They wake up not in Las Vegas but in Bangkok, Thailand and this time, they're not missing Doug. They are missing Teddy, a teenage medical student and Stu's future brother-in-law. So, you know, it's different. Oh wait, in the first movie, they encountered a gangstar named Chow played by Ken Jeong but, this time around, when they wake up in their run down Bangkok hotel room, they don't meet up with Chow. At least, not right away. It takes them at least seven minutes to figure out that he is also passed out in the room under some sheets.
Sadly, the one thing they failed to copy was the number of laughs. It just isn't as funny as The Hangover was. There are laughs though, especially in the first half hour or so, and that's why this movie was given three stars out of five in this review. The filmmakers managed to run the shallow Phil, nebbishy Stu and deranged Alan through the same ringer as before and squeeze out just enough laughs to barely make this movie worth seeing. Yes, there are slow spots and it's too derivative and the amount of nudity, both male and female (sometimes on the same body), probably makes even fans of nudity uncomfortable but, all in all, it just manages to pull it off and make a successful sequel.
If this sounds like faint praise, it is. The movie will have to settle for this as we had to settle for a weak sequel. Sometimes, that's all you can get. We should be happy with this as the mother of all nightmare sequels, Transformers 3, is just a few weeks away.
The Hangover Part II is showing locally in both 35 mm and digital projection at Aviation Mall's Regal 7 on Aviation Road in Queensbury.
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