Hey folks, Valkor here. As I'm getting my affairs in order, prepping
for my Vegas CES 2012 journey, I received a from the folks at
Warner Home that put the process on hold and totally related…
somewhat, at least from the characters perspective. See the dudes
from the first "Hangover" film are back, but this time they're
taking their drug-induced hijinks to Bangkok, Thailand… and yet
it still feels like Vegas for some reason. And really, I'm not
complaining.
That's right the Wolfpack –Stu (Ed Helms), Phil (Bradley Cooper), and Allan (Zack Galifianakis) have returned for another go around, only this time the location has changed and Doug (played by Justin Bartha, who also returns) doesn't go missing. However, beat for beat, the Hangover II is exactly like the first. In the second film, which takes place two years after the events of the first, Stu is getting married this round (not to Jade played by Heather Graham), but to a new woman named Lauren (Jamie Chung – Burning Palms, Dragon Ball Revolution) in Thailand. The pack heads out to a bonfire to celebrate the wedding along with Lauren's little brother Teddy (Mason Lee) and just after the toast, night becomes day and the location changes from the beach to a rundown hotel room in Bangkok. They're wasted, have no memory of the events that took place the night before, Alan is shaved bald, Stu has a tattoo on his face, and Teddy is missing. The crew must now piece together clues to find Teddy in time to make the wedding or there's gonna be a shitstorm!
So how does it all equate to being just like the first film? Well let's do some comparisons shall we:
- An animal gets kidnapped (H1 – Tiger, H2 – Monkey)
- Stu gets it in with a stripper
- Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) is back, showing off his wenis
- Bryan Callen (Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury) who played Eddie in the first film is back as Samir for the second
- Mike Tyson returns
- And the film ends with a collection of photos of that crazy night
- Teddy is kidnapped much the same as Doug
- Stu sings
The DVD comes with a gag reel and an UltraViolet digital copy (you get more with the BD). Now there's only one other sequel that followed its original beat for beat, which was "Teen Wolf 2" – and that didn't turn out so well for me. But The Hangover II… that's something different, something special.
The Good:
The first Hangover film was amazing! I mean to this day, I can still watch it over and over and never get tired of it. Now the same goes for the second film, while it's not as funny as the first, it's still plenty outrageous. Sure we're entering familiar territory, but at least the location is different and it makes perfect sense to take the craziness to Thailand. When it was announced that the film would take place there, I was wondering if they would touch on the "ladyboy" issue… uhhhh yea! Zack Galifianakis is freakin adorable in this round, especially with the monkey. But big ups go to Ken Jeong whose Mr. Chow has a bigger speaking part and very, very funny. Oh shit even Paul Giamatti makes a nice cameo! What the hell, a round of applause goes out to everyone whose performances were spot on. The story is solid, the pacing is well balanced, the jokes are spot on, and I simply had a wonderful time with The Hangover 2. Seriously, if you enjoyed the first flick, you're gonna get a kick out of this one. Oh I can't forget the Mike Tyson ending… NICE!
The Bad:
Other than the fact that the film is pretty much a rehash of the first, I think anything I'd say would be nitpicking.
The Ugly:
Stop showing Jeong's junk. Just… stop!
The Hangover Part II gets a release on Dec. 6th in either DVD w/ UltraViolet Digital Copy, single disc Blu-Ray, or Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack. Not only is this the perfect companion to the first film, but it also makes for the perfect Christmas gift. And out of TOV 5 stars, I give the film 4.5 stars! Now I'm just gonna take a little bump and…
