Sunday, May 29, 2011

Hangover 2 = About As Fun As A Real Hangover

Pictured: People watching Hangover 2. At least the Asian likes it
Well here comes an easy one:  Hangover 1 >>>> Hangover 2.

The Hangover Part II reminds me alot of Family Guy since it returned to the air. It's dark for no reason, purposely tries to shock you, has jokes too drawn out, and it hangs so much it what it previously was because it is just a shell of its former self. At least there aren't complete non-sequitur out of nowhere and shoe-horned political views. You know, like that time when James Franco and Mr. T tried to legalize marijuana. "I pity the fool who doesn't smoke!" Hahaha. See, he combined a current popular figure with an 80s reference. So clever. 

Much like the second run of Family Guy, there are still plenty of funny parts. But the first one has you laughing from start to finish, where this has several ten or so minute intervals where absolutely nothing happens. If this was Hangover 1, Hangover 2 would have never happened. But of course, there are enough recycled gags that this actually could be Hangover 1. Minus the good parts anyway.

The original blasted Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms to stardom, mostly because they had such great chemistry and perfect comedic timing. Galifianakis especially, because he was so weird, yet just so natural. While he is still the best character, he feels so much more forced. And as for the rest of the "Wolfpack", you just never find yourself caring about them this time around.
The original had so many great little scenes. My absolute favorite was when Zack is freaking out about the tiger in the bathroom. Bradley goes in there and just starts laughing. Or when they are driving the cop car, and Ed is freaking out but Zack is just having a good old time. There are very little subtle interactions between the characters, and they always just go for the big joke.

Another major thing this one lacks is the help from supporting characters. Yeah, everyone loved the big three, but you can not say that Rob Riggle and Cleo King as cops, or Matt Walsh as the doctor, or even Heather Graham didn't steal the scenes they were in. Granted this does have more Ken Jeong, but far from better Ken Jeong. The great Jeffrey Tambor has one line in the sequel. I think he only has three in the first one, but he has the best one in the entire film. Bryan Callen (the wedding chapel guy in the original) and Tyson are the only worthwhile returning characters.

Oh, and Paul Giamatti is in this ^__^  With a 100% serious role  o_0

That is the biggest problem with this movie. While the main jokes are still there, you don't care about any of the supporting characters whatsoever. Even the main characters don't care about the other characters. And the main characters themselves are more scaled back and forced. In the first one, the actors seemed to legitimately be having a great time, but here it seems like they were being forced work. The first one was a buddy comedy. This is a "Lets make fun of Thailand" comedy.

One final thought. While I know what a sequel is, you if never saw the first Hangover, you would not understand this whatsoever. Thats how much this relies on the original.  

26 comments:

  1. Good write up. I figured it would be like that, but I'm still going to see it. I'm betting that Bridesmaids is actually a lot funnier than this. Gonna see that as well.

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  2. Probably still give it a watch...but on DVD.

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  3. man, I REALLY, BADLY, WANT to see THIS!!!

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  4. havent heard good things about this...

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  5. True, I havent been giving out good recs on this. Honestly, the first one wasnt that funny either, totally now what I expected. The pictures at the end during the closing credits helped make it funny, but if I had left 1 minute earlier, I wouldve left with a sour taste in my mouth

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  6. About what i expected. If it's anything like the first (which it looks near identical to), it doesnt seem like it'll have any lasting power like much better comedies strive to achieve. I mean, look at Super Troopers, ILYM, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and so on. Those movies literally get better over time, on my second viewing of The Hangover i was waiting for it to end before they even reached Vegas. Just an overrated movie.

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  7. I'll wait 'till I can see it on netflix

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  8. Heven't seen it yet but from your review looks like what I'm expecting. Those movies don't make good sequels, they were only wanted to milk the cow for a bit longer because of the success of the first movie.

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  9. It never struck me as a "go to the theatre" kind of movie. Going to wait for it to come out on dvd.

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  10. sighh...I'll still give it a chance, but definitely with a grain of salt

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  11. I think i'll have to watch this one, heard a lot of mixed reviews on it

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  12. Hollywood destroys all good ideas, even the half decent one.

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  13. havent seen it yet... now im not sure i want to xD

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  14. I'm still going to check this movie out.

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  15. prob still be better than most of the rubbish films out

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  16. all my idiot friends have been saying how good it is. I'm glad you have the courage to tell it like it is.

    That said Dude, Where's my Car? > The Hangover

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  17. Thats lame, I've still got to watch it though. Worth a wait for the DvD?

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  18. Haha, I saw it as well. It was funny, but paled in comparison to the original.

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  19. Kind of disappointing. I had heard good things about it.

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  20. Ohhh man this movie was really really good, i can't wait to see it :D take care!

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  21. yea i just saw it last night...it was extremely mediocre. they tried to hard to make it the same as the first one

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  22. I have seen it this weekend, me and my friend had a great time but I admit the movie is below average

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