The Three Best Friends...

The Hangover Part II

      I recently sat down and watched “The Hangover” again just because I thought it might be nice to compare the original to the sequel. I laughed just as hard this time as I have the other times I’ve seen it. When Alan (Zach Galifianakis) gives his speech that is both awkward and touching. When Stu wakes up with a tooth missing and married to a  stripper single mother. When Chow jumps from the trunk of their car naked and pissed off. It all works no matter how many times you see it and that is the sign of a great movie. So going into “The Hangover Part 2” it was an uphill battle to top the first film and I can’t say that “The Hangover Part 2” did that. They just did not raise the bar for number 2. They stayed in the same area and rode their success for another movie.

Usually I would say that to stay in their well crafted box for two movies is a bad thing but for The Wolfpack, I am willing to give them a pass. While Thailand was as much of a character in 2 as Vegas was in the original, the escapades are pretty much the same. Stu has yet another facial issue and an adventure with a Thai prostitute. Alan is still forever immature and innocent. Chow is still an international gangster with a small penis. Doug is still missing but safe this time at the resort with the panicking bride this time with pregnant wife Tracy at his side. Of all of them, he seems to have grown the most but he was always the “responsible” pack member. Phil is still a bit of an a**hole and yet leads the pack with his forever moving forward attitude.

The new additions to the movie are Stu’s wife to be Lauren and her family who doesn’t really accept that Lauren would be interested in someone like Stu who they compare to a watery rice dish used to feed babies and old people who can’t handle solids. Not the kind of glowing sign of respect from your future father in law. Lauren’s 16 year old prodigy brother, Teddy, is the apple of daddy’s eye who is attending Stanford and is a master Cello player who seems to be so bored with his life that having a few beers with his sister’s husband and his pals as an adventure. He is the missing wolfpack member taking Doug’s spot this time around and the search for Teddy leads them all over Bangkok dodging drug dealers, running into angry middle eastern gun runners, a monkey who loves a good cigarette and Paul Giamatti’s bombastic international criminal that reminds you that Giamatti doesn’t always need to play the sad sack.

They never really break from the formula of the first movie and looking back I can’t see why they should. This formula is just as funny and seeing the pack members in a place slightly more dangerous than Vegas, where harm could come to them at any time, is a bit more thrilling. Yet the movie never really puts them in serious danger. It is all funny and interesting in ways you can’t really explain. There is a heart of gold in each of the pack members who still love each other and will pull together to rescue their friends and come through for them. It is still funny, every time I see it and for that, “The Hangover Part 2” is successful. It gives you the same nervous laughter, exasperation at Alan’s inability to grasp things or his need for simple things (a bag of Fanta being my personal favorite this time), and the same moment of wondering how they will get through it all. You never really doubt that Teddy will be found but it isn’t a simple solution. 

I loved “The Hangover Part 2” because it didn’t go out of their way to change up the entire movie just to change it. The movie works and creates a simple and enjoyable mix of raunchy and outrageous humor and real heart. I’ve heard rumors that for Part 3 they may be travelling to Amsterdam and personally I can’t wait. I just hope that the filmmakers still make a “Hangover” movie and don’t change the formula. New Coke didn’t work and neither would The Hangover: The Search for Alan’s Treasure. Stick with what works for you and enjoy the success. Obviously people still love the idea, and the new settings offer new adventures to a movie you can watch a thousand times and still love every times. Let’s just hope there are more adventures for “the three best friends that anyone could have.”

Mr. Unhappy Sez: The Wolfpack is and always will be worth watching.