Hangover 2: Don’t waste your money

The Hangover Part 2, C-

This review will have NO spoilers, and I HIGHLY recommend you avoid other reviews with spoilers if you plan on seeing this.

Upon beginning, I must admit a few things: I LOVE the writer/director Todd Phillips. I’m a HUGE fan of The Hangover, in fact I rated it 5/5 and “favorited” it on my Mubi (the in-depth account of all my favorite movies). I’m also a big Zach Galifianakis fan, although I admit I’ve been getting tired of him.

Please heed my warning: Don’t waste $11 to see this movie.

The Hangover: Part 2 was predictable and kind of funny, but entirely underwhelming. Is it all that bad? Not really, I just hate to be taken advantage of. I hate when a studio exploits the success of a great movie by releasing a poor sequel on the tail of the former film’s success.

Honestly, this film is like the crappy American remake of a better film… although strangely it actually is a remake of an American film… so you actually know you’re being cheated.

The old characters are more shallow, annoying versions of themselves, and all new characters, especially Stu’s fiancée, are extremely dull, flat, boring and unrealistic. That being said, there are some great jokes, especially revolving around one fun new character who I will not tell you anything about (better to be surprised, you’ll thank me).

The greatness of the first film was its shock value. The concept of reliving a night you can’t remember worked because it lent itself to hilarious surprises. The “surprises” in The Hangover Part 2 are predictable, so I didn’t find myself amused. Even beyond that, the gags just are not up to standard. They aren’t fresh or clever, just kind of stupid and tired.

Do I even dare dissect the “story” of this? No, not really. Quite simply, don’t expect a good story (which can be found in a far superior studio comedy that’s out now, Bridesmaids). It’s decent, but the emotions simply don’t make sense from scene to scene, especially at the end.

This movie isn’t really that bad, but it’s in no way special. If you want to be entertained, I guess you can see it. However with a far superior comedy called Bridesmaids at your cinema, I suggest you don’t spend your money on this mediocrity.


You can contact me at bostonianonfilm@gmail.com or @BrandonIsaacson on Twitter.