'The Wolfpack' - Bradley Cooper, Zack Galifianakis and Ed Helms star in "The Hangover Part II"

What Happened in Vegas Sure Stayed In Vegas… Take Us Back to Sin City

Todd Philllips’, original masterpiece, “The Hangover” (2009) set a record as the highest grossing R-rated comedy of all time. As if that wasn’t enough, this movie - featuring a roaming tiger, a missing tooth and a sunglass-wearing baby topped itself when it went on to set the record for best selling comedy DVD of all time, outpacing the previous record holder, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” (2002).

Unfortunately, Phillips was unable to raise the bar from there in, “The Hangover Part II.” While this highly anticipated sequel is certainly humorous, we hoped for more the second time around. We see nothing new here, certainly no fresh plot lines.

Nevertheless, the wolf pack is back at it again. The stellar threesome, Bradley Cooper (“Limitless” 2011), Ed Helms (“Cedar Rapids” 2011) and Zach Galifianakis (“Due Date” 2010) take their shenanigans to the breathtaking country of Thailand (or “Thigh-land” as Alan [Galifianakis] pronounces it) as well as the rugged (understatement) streets of Bangkok. Stu (Helms) is getting married (yes, again) to the love of his life, Lauren (Jamie Chung, “Sucker Punch” 2011) but must convince his buds to take a “quick trip” over to Thailand as Lauren’s parents insist the wedding be held in their native country. Throughout the film, Stu gets ripped apart left and right, especially by Lauren’s father who, let’s just say, isn’t a fan of his future son-in-law.

“The Hangover Part II” is certainly darker and more desperate than the original. It almost felt as though the script was pieced together. Many of the laughs from the audience seemed to be more out of disbelief than hilarity and some scenes just dragged on for too long. The product placement couldn’t have been more obvious. Alan purposely mispronounces the designer name of his carry on, “Louis Vuitton” (“Lew-is”) and shouts, “I’d love a SmartWater” through the airport. This was another distraction. While the birds’ eye views of Thailand are magnificent, let’s just say I don’t have an urgency to visit the overcrowded, dirty and rundown streets of Bangkok anytime soon.

Once again, the geeky Galifianakis steals the show with his child-like nature, one-liners and random intelligent ideas. He could have been more comical, however. I probably laughed more watching him promote this comedy on various entertainment shows and late night than at his character in the flick itself. This was disappointing, as I know he has such potential. Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong, “Community” 2009-2011) makes another raunchy appearance but was more annoying than amusing. Helms plays his innocent, likeable character very well and boy does Asia challenge his innocence. In one scene, while they glide through the seedy parts of Bangkok on a small boat, Helms plays the guitar and basically sums up their nightmare of a trip singing a hilarious song.

While the boys enjoy a nice evening with family and friends at the rehearsal dinner. Next thing we know, it is time for the toasts. A special thanks goes out to Alan’s toast for ending the night on a great note, “None of you know Stu like I do. I can’t even tell you what we’ve been through because we made a pact. What I can tell you is this; this is not Stu’s first marriage. There was a whore in Las Vegas a couple of years ago…” That’s not even the half of it.

While Bradley Cooper is, as always, extremely easy on the eyes, the rest of the movie may not be. There is a fair share of gruesome and raunchy scenes including but not limited to, severed fingers, transgendered prostitutes, full on nudity, a gutted pig and a freshly inked face. The first film worked so well with its distinctive concept, characters and structure. Now that we’ve seen all of this a second time, however, the thrill seems to have worn off.

Bottom Line? This comedy is certainly entertaining, but just don’t expect more the second time around. If anything, it is worth watching it through to the end when the photos from the previous night surface – this may be the only instance where the original was outdone.

Jessica Aymond © May 26, 2011