Feature

The Hangover Part II: As funny as the first?

The morning-after mayhem returns to theaters, but critics aren't as amused this time around

In the summer of 2009, The Hangover, the story of a Las Vegas bachelor party gone tastelessly awry, was the movie to see. It took in $467 million in worldwide box office — the highest gross ever for an R-rated comedy — and made Zach Galifianakis a star. Now, the ill-fated party boys are back, in Bangkok this time, with The Hangover Part II. Is their Eastern misadventure as much fun as the original Vegas version? (Watch the movie's trailer.)

No, this is just a tired attempt to cash in again: It's "more of the same, and yet less," says Stephanie Zacharek at Movieline. The sequel has the same structure and cast as the first, but none of the untamed charm and "ingenious loopiness." This time around, the contrived, overly tailored "writing and direction smell more like marketing than actual filmmaking."
"REVIEW: The Hangover Part II Is a buddy movie that's nobody's friend"

C'mon, it's appreciably adequate: The Hangover Part II is "a rock-solid mainstream comedy," says Nathan Rabin at The Onion's A.V. Club. Director Todd Phillips has stuck to the "winning formula" and simply inserted his winning cast, with their "rightly vaunted chemistry," into Bangkok. A higher raunch factor makes up for the deja vu and even though the movie aspires to be more darkly dangerous than it is, Phillips "has a lucrative franchise to protect" and had to play it safe.
"The Hangover Part II"

The first film wasn't funny either: I don't find either of the movies all that amusing, says Manohla Dargis in The New York Times. In both, "grown men cast off the shackles of everyday existence, leaving behind girlfriends, wives, parents and jobs in order to play, feel, live." To me, "these nominal comedies... [are] better thought of as tragedies."
"3 men and a monkey-baby"

Recommended

The daily gossip: June 2, 2023
Padma Lakshmi
Daily gossip

The daily gossip: June 2, 2023

The return of Samantha Jones
Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker in 'Sex And The City'
Behind the scenes

The return of Samantha Jones

The daily gossip: June 1, 2023
Danny Masterson
Daily gossip

The daily gossip: June 1, 2023

Quentin Tarantino's swan song
Quentin Tarantino
Briefing

Quentin Tarantino's swan song

Most Popular

How could AI cause human extinction?
An illustrated image of the evolution of humans, marching toward a city on fire
Today's big question

How could AI cause human extinction?

Why are so many boomers homeless?
Homeless person and tents
Today's big question

Why are so many boomers homeless?

US births did not return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022
Pregnant woman holding ultrasound photo.
bye, bye, baby

US births did not return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022