Can Mel Gibson's 'Hangover 2' cameo save his career?

Scandal-plagued Mel Gibson is trying to begin rebuilding his career by appearing as a Bangkok tattoo artist in The Hangover 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2009 hit comedy. Gibson has a long road back — he has been dropped by his Hollywood talent agency, and scorned by fans over allegations that he assaulted and threatened his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. But troubled former boxer Mike Tyson got a publicity lift from his role as a Phil Collins–singing eccentric in the first Hangover. Can this movie do the same for Gibson?

This is the start of Gibson's comeback: "Mel is a bit off of his rocker," says Blake Fehl at Review STL, but that doesn't mean moviegoers can't still enjoy him in a film. If Gibson makes people laugh in The Hangover 2, they just might "forget the obscenity-filled rants recorded by his ex-girlfriend. Whoever is doing PR for Gibson should ask for a pay raise."

"Mel Gibson making cameo appearance in Hangover 2?"

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Gibson is making a big mistake: Tyson's scandals were long past before his Hangover role, says Jeff Labrecque in Entertainment Weekly. Gibson's "profanity-laced" threats are still fresh in our minds. "No matter how hilarious the cameo," audiences probably will still be "nursing a grudge." And if Gibson makes fun of his real-life problems, he could be vilified for making light of "a serious situation."

"Mel Gibson to cameo in Hangover 2"

Time will be what saves Mel's career: "We like to pretend we won't forgive and forget so easily, but, well, we do," says Katey Rich at Cinema Blend. By the time The Hangover 2 arrives in theaters next summer, it will have been nearly a year since the allegations surfaced and Gibson left Hollywood in shame. Audiences will be ready to see Gibson poke fun at himself by then, and in another year or two "we may forget he was ever gone."

"Is Mel Gibson making the big Hangover 2 cameo?"