Director: Todd Phillips
Stars: Bradley Cooper (Phil), Zach Galifianakis (Alan), Ed Helms (Stu)
102 Minutes
Comedy
By Marisa Ings
The Wolfpack is back! And this time good ‘old Stu’s getting married (again!) and no, not to another stripper. This time, he has found a beautiful enchanting woman to wed. The Hangover Part II turns the wedding event upside down and if you’ve never seen part 1 you’ll be laughing from beginning to end.
The entire original cast is back with the addition of Stu’s gorgeous fiancé and her Thailand family. Unlike the previous bachelor bash, Stu desires to have a calm quiet gathering at the local IHOP in the USA to celebrate his final days as a single man before the crew jet sets to Thailand for his destination wedding. But, as we’ve seen before, when the Wolfpack gets together calm always turns into ciaos. The night before the wedding the fellas soon convince Stu to have just one drink and from there the guys find themselves living a day of deja vu.
If you have seen The Hangover be prepared to notice a lot of similarities in The Hangover Part II. There’s the well meaning beginning toast, to the missing person, and Mr. Chow with a few different funny scenes in between. There are still plenty of humorously awkward eyebrow-raising moments that are to be expected in a Hangover movie and they offer some good-natured laughs.
The chemistry of the cast will have you feeling like you are hanging out with the boys (even if you’re a girl). Alan (Zach Galifianakis) definitely does not disappoint with his grown-childlike persona and even Crystal the monkey can act.
Personally, I was hoping for a lot more from the storyline. The Hangover Part II is an exact formula of the first film with the only deviation being the fantastic views of Thailand and a different person gone missing. Although the formula is the same, the whacky comedy style and chemistry of the actors doesn’t change.
Final Rating: C+Â (Lacks individuality in the series itself but overall still offers comedy that only the Hangover cast can produce.)