“Y’know, it may just be that Im too distracted by what’s currently on my tv screen, or it could be that The Hangover Part II wasn’t particularly special that I cant quite remember enough to write about. Cause I know I wasnt drunk during it, so it’s not like I got too into the spirit of the film shall we say.
I think that this movie suffered from sequel-itis in the worst way. It was two fold.
First off, was a matter of expectations. The first Hangover looked awful and unfunny to me. From the overplayed trailer, I had no intention of seeing it. Then the buzz picked up, curiosity kicked in, and I went to see it. I seem to recall still not caring about it right away, but thinking about it more and more fondly as time went on, and loving it by the time I watched it on Blu-Ray. This time, I went into the film expecting the awesome and was somewhat disappointed.
The other part of sequel-itis is the problem that every sequel faces. Where do you stick to the original plan, and where do you venture into new territory? It seemed like The Hangover decided to play it safe and stick as close to the original formula as possible: exact same plot, eerily similar twists, same progression of events, characters in the same situations. There really wasnt much new to it. Now, something like that could have worked if they upped the ante with the dialogue and humor, but it didnt feel like they did. Yeah there were some gags that made me chuckle, but nothing spectacular.
I do love the cast. Im still not the biggest fan of Zack Galifianakis, but thankfully they resisted the urge to overuse him. Ed Helms carried a bit more of it this time around, which he does well with. And of course, no matter how unimpressive the rest of the film may be, there’s always Bradley Cooper to look at. The way that Justin Bartha was used was interesting. I would have expected him to have taken part in the shenanigans, but it made sense leaving him as the “”anchor”” back with the wedding party.
Anyways, I know there’s a rush to the theater for Hangover fans to see this film. I think it may work better for a drinking game at home. Then again, maybe like the original, it’ll grow on me over time
The Hangover Part II – \m/ \m/ \n