Movie Review: "The Hangover II" no worse than a bad cold
If you saw "Hangover," the flag-waver for the series, you know what "Hangover Part 2 (or II, it wavers) is all about. You probably know it so well that there's not a lot of attraction to seeing "Part 2.) Same cast, same story (but switched to Bangkok) same gags, same car chases (although a car chase in a Bangkok market with the good guys being chased by two motorcycle killers is a bit different, but not really).
This time Doc Stu is marring a Thai woman of incredible beauty (you didn't get that in the first film; Jamie Chung is keel-over gorgeous and does a fine, laid-back job as the bride to be, although why she would want to wed Stu is weird). So the foursome fly to Bangkok, get drunk, wake up in a crummy hotel, chase around looking for the bride's young brother who was with them when they got drunk, Stu now sports a tattoo on his face and one of their party, a gangster of sorts, seems dead after doing a line of coke; they dump the body in a handy hotel ice machine.
And off they go careening around Bangkok, finally find the bar where they created a riot and along the way pick up a cigarette smoking monkey. Don't ask.
Lots of dumb shots, lots of mild looking down on Thais and a bit of sleaze about Buddhism that is gratuitous at worst. The rest of the critical world panned this movie, and who am I to fly against reasoned men and women when the movie was clearly made simply to make money. Paul Giamatti makes an appearance as an Interpol cop and Nick Cassavetes appears as an American tattoo artist, a role originally planned for the disgraced Mel Gibson. Just hinge for the plot.
If you like deju vu and saw No. 1, this might be for you. If not and you've got a couple of hours and some spare bucks to spend, get thee to the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City. Popcorn is pretty good.
--- Sam Bauman
Cast
• Bradley Cooper as Phil Wenneck
• Ed Helms as Dr. Stuart "Stu" Price
• Zach Galifianakis as Alan Garner[
• Justin Bartha as Doug Billings
• Ken Jeong as Leslie Chow
• Jeffrey Tambor as Sid Garner[
• Jamie Chung as Lauren, Stu's fiancée[
• Bryan Callen as Samir, a smarmy strip club owner in Bangkok
• Mason Lee as Teddy, Lauren's brother
• Paul Giamatti as Kingsley, an undercover Interpol agent
• Sasha Barrese as Tracy Billings, Doug's wife
• Gillian Vigman as Stephanie Wenneck, Phil's wife
• Yasmin Lee as Kimmy
• Nirut Sirijanya as Lauren's father
Cooper, Helms, Galifianakis, Bartha, Jeong, Barrese and Tambor reprise their roles from the first film. Mike Tyson also reprises his role as himself and sings a cover of the 1984 Murray Head song "One Night in Bangkok" for the movie.The film is the Hollywood debut of Mason Lee, son of director Ang Lee. Nick Cassavetes has a cameo appearance as a Bangkok tattoo artist. Liam Neeson was initially cast in that role, which was originally envisioned for Mel Gibson.
Directed by Todd Phillips
Produced by Daniel Goldberg
Todd Phillips
Written by Scot Armstrong
Craig Mazin
Todd Phillips
Music by Christophe Beck
Cinematography Lawrence Sher
Editing by Debra Neil-Fisher
Mike Sale Studio Legendary Pictures
Green Hat Films Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Release date(s) May 26, 2011 Running time 102 minutes[1] Country United States Language English Budget $80 million Gross revenue