As a rule, I don't care for blokey comedies, particularly ones of the gross-out variety.
But I was persuaded to see the original Hangover and was pleasantly surprised. There were three plus points:
1. Filming on location, giving the proceedings a veracity
2. Solid comic acting by Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper
3. Alan.
In fact, Alan's character, and Zach Galifanakis's portrayal, took the film into both darker places and, due to his naivete, also more innocent places. Sometimes simultaneously.
This sequel has all 3 points but it's not as good.
Partly the issue is the long-winded intro (if you thought this review had a laborious start, it's nothing trust me).
The other main problem is that Alan's plain unlikeable for the opening third. Yes, it makes sense that he would be possessive of the members of the Wolfpack.
The direction is, as with the first one, very good at capturing a sense of place. Bangkok looks both gorgeous and, at times, menacing. It's also not quite as cliched a view of Thailand as you might think (one of the big cliches is shown comparatively briefly but the other is mercifully ducked).
Methinks, another issue is structure. Cooper and Helms have said they didn't feel they had earned the right to make any drastic changes to the narrative framework.
Which doesn't help to be honest as you can see the mechanics quite clearly in some places (particularly as I watched the original the night before).
And, if there's a third offering (which seems likely), can we move away from wedding plots? I suspect a christening of Doug's kid would be the most plausible (with a missing baby).
It's fun, don't get me wrong. Helms and Cooper are charming as ever. It's just I won't want to buy this installment on DVD for posterity.
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