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.  

Opening This Weekend: Hung Over Pandas

This guy knows how to party!

The Hangover Part II -- aka Bridemaids for men. The comments here give me the impression most of you weren't a big fan of the first one. The Hangover was amazing. I've seen it maybe ten times now and I still laugh like crazy at it. Well the reviews are saying the sequel is exactly the Hangover Part I. I don't think that is a bad thing, but most people aren't enjoying it too much. Whatever, I'm still seeing it tonight. Impression then.

Kung-Fu Panda Part II -- Despite my love for kung-fu and pandas, I never saw the first one. It might be good, but I'm doubting it. The ads for the sequel are really well done however. Besides spoofing Paranormal Activity and Jackass, they are making an effort to show this does have the funny Seth Rogan and Danny McBride to go along with the unfunny one hit wonder Jack Black. Still, attendance so far is down very low so far, and it is already being called a bomb. Ouch.

The Tree of Life -- Sadly, this is not about the nine realms in Norse mythology. It's a period piece drama about growing up. Brad Pitt and Sean Penn (could have sworn he retired) star. This recently won the best in show Palme d'Or award at Cannes, which means it has nothing to do with loving Hitler.

Box Office Round Up: Thor Hanging On

I Googled Chris Hemsworth happy, and this was the closet I got to a smile

Thor may not be as Floppy after all. It finished in first again for the second straight week. It made $34.5 million, more than half of what it made last weekend, which isn't a bad drop-off at all. I finally saw two or three TV commercials for it, so maybe that helped it out a bit. However, not too great of a weekly gross, earning only $19 million during which was probably Finals Week for most schools. That's my best explanation anyway.

Number two was Bridesmaids at $24 million, which is getting some very good word of mouth. The previews were painful to watch, but I didn't think The Hangover had that great of commercials either and I spent the entire movie rolling on the floor laughing. Which reminds me, I can't believe so many of my followers hate the Hangover.

Since we are there anyway, The Hangover made $45 its opening weekend and dropped very slowly, on its way to the third highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. I can see Bridesmaids having legs too. However, both movies have almost the same budget: $35 for Hangover and $33 for Bridesmaids. The Hangover had a much bigger and more accomplished cast, and I'm assuming it had a bigger location fee. Just renting that suite was a couple million right there. I'm sure Tyson has a high asking price. And a car or two gets destroyed. Maybe that stuff happens in Bridemaids too...but probably not. Why are they almost the same price?

As for everything else, Fast Five made $19.5, Priest made $14.5 (more than I ever expected), and Rio will not die holding on to #5, five weeks after it was released. And nowhere to be seen is A Serbian Film. It was either such a limited that it is not being tracked, or everyone who saw it walked out and demanded their money back. I'm leaning towards the latter.