Tim Ajmani
The Corsair
I have personally seen the “Hangover” a billion times, and that’s not an exaggeration. So you can guess how excited I was when I heard that there was going to be a “Hangover: Part II”. I have been excited about many movie sequels before, such as “The Two Towers” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Dead Man’s Chest”. But I literally was going crazy every day up to the release of “Hangover: Part II”. I went to see it the weekend of the release on a Saturday afternoon to avoid a huge crowd.
Before I get to what I think about it, I have a message for parents. Please: Do not bring your 8 or 9 year old kid to see this movie. Seriously. While the Hangover movies are full of humor and parody, these are not movies for young children. There are certain things that they should not see at a young age. I saw maybe seven or eight families in the showing I attended that had young children with them. For their sake, let them grow up a little before letting them see a movie like this.
With that being said, let us get to my thoughts. I won’t spill out all of the details for those who haven’t seen it. But a short summary should suffice. One of the beloved trio of the first gets married (I say trio because Doug is largely absent in the 1st, and 2nd for the most part). Someone goes missing. The trio goes on an insane hunt to find said missing person. Then, when seemingly out of hope, the light bulb flicks on, and the missing person is found. In short, a “Hangover” copy.
While “Part II” is definitely a must see for those who fell in love with the first, it falls sadly into the trap of many highly anticipated sequels. Acting is not an issue in the movie, as the main trio has decent chemistry between them. The main reason the first movie was such a success was the subtle, yet effective jokes in mild conversations between the actors. Much of that element in “Part II” felt like it was forced, particularly most of the jokes by Alan. It just didn’t have that “original” feel that “Hangover” had.
There is nothing wrong with a sequel being very similar to its predecessor. But “Part II” shares too much with the 1st movie. Sometimes in movies, as well as video games, the product can be finished or released too quickly. After seeing “Part II”, it did seem like the production was rushed. Perhaps if the plot was changed a little, the movie could’ve exceeded expectations that were set by the first movie.
Don’t get me wrong; I laughed more in “Part II” than I did in any movie I have seen in the past six months. If you haven’t seen it, I strong urge you to head to your nearest movie theatre (after watching the original “Hangover” to keep the storyline in mind). But don’t be disappointed as you drive home because you thought it would be much more.