Seeing The Hangover Part II felt like watching re-runs of a favorite show. This sequel copies the plot and jokes of the first film and the only spin on the material is that it doesn't take place in Vegas and Justin Bartha isn't the one lost in the big city. This time around, The Wolfpack is lost in the city of Bangkok, Thailand. Stu is the one getting married and his fiancee's little brother, Teddy has gone missing. Justin Bartha is still MIA but only because he's too smart to go along for the ride.
As expected, it contains a lot of vulgar humor both in oral and visual forms and at times it goes a little too far. An example of this is what happens when Stu finds out he slept with a hooker during his alcohol fueled bachelor outing. It's not the fact that he slept with a hooker that bothered me, it's with what kind of hooker.
I laughed one time during The Hangover Part II and that was when Stu goes into song mode about what's happened to him. It's a mildly amusing riff but it's not worth the $10. There's also a mean-spirited edge to the film: people are dying of drug overdoses, a kid manages to cut off one of his fingers, possible kidnapping in an exotic and dangerous locale, and there's a grumpy father-in-law who doesn't like Stu. This is a lot darker than anything I saw in The Hangover and it put a bad taste in my mouth.
You might read this review and think that I had a bad time at the movies. To tell you the truth, I didn't and I'm really surprised. Sometimes having a few familiar faces around is enough to make anything bearable. The Wolfpack came through and they rescued the film from being completely unwatchable. Having said this, I'd still recommend that you skip this one and rent the original.
C
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