The Hangover Part II
The Hangover (2009) is one of those films that totally nails it. It’s a blast. It has a cast that, at the time, was under the radar. Bradley Cooper, billed 14th in his best film role always and forever - Wet Hot American Summer (2001), was the lead. The only other big films he had starred in were Wedding Crashers (2005) and He’s Just Not That Into You (2009), and he certainly wasn’t the lead in those films. Ed Helms, billed 2nd, just had TV under his belt - ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘The Office.’ And Zach Galiafinakis, billed 3rd, was still mucking about on the internet and in bit parts until The Hangover. To put it simply, this film completely blew up these careers. It came out of nowhere. Of course, for some of us, the poster was enough to expect big things, as was the case with Old School (2003), Todd Phillips’ first great film. When you have a sense of the players involved, it’s exciting to imagine the possibilities. The Hangover delivered.
Where The Hangover succeeded with rather low expectations, The Hangover Part II fails with epically high expectations. This is probably why there wasn’t an Old School Part II. Everyone knows what to expect here. And we get exactly that. These actors have become bankable stars. Here, they prove their stardom by cashing in big time. But it’s not exactly fair to say they play it safe. The envelope is still pushed: there’s a still image in the end credits (again), for instance, that parodies photojournalist Eddie Adams’ horrific photograph of that Saigon execution from the Tet Offensive. Offensive is right - Roger Ebert, though he loved the first, lambasts this comedy for going to far. Comedy can’t go too far. I love that the guys went for this. You can’t know where the line is unless you try to cross it. A premise in which everyone gets so fucked up they can’t remember anything is the perfect way to examine our secret cultural predilections. Maybe one of them is to be calloused to cultural sensitivities.
I, for one, enjoyed this film. What’s not to like? What, it’s too similar to the first one, which was great?? Sure, I’d be disappointed in a lack of ingenuity if I was seeing a new Wes or PT Anderson film. (Indeed, every Wes Anderson pic after The Royal Tenenbaums is somewhat disappointing for this very reason.) But this is big budget comedy here. What’s next? Complaining that sex with your girlfriend is the exact same as last time?
It is true: this sequel is nearly identical to the original. The plot turns mirror the first one beat for beat. They’re still searching their pockets for clues, still talking to bit characters to piece it all back together, still rushing back in time for the wedding. Drugs in the marshmallows instead of the yager / A monkey instead of a baby / Justin Bartha is expunged because he left the camp fire early instead of being left on the roof / Face tattoo instead of missing tooth / Chang is invited to join instead of showing up villainously / It’s the new brother-in-law that’s missing instead of the groom. Oh, and it’s in Bangkok instead of Vegas, which is perfectly fitting. Still plenty of jokes. One of the opening scenes in Zach’s house is hilarious, for instance. (He was introduced quite well in the original, too.)
To be sure, this isn’t as good as The Hangover. Overall the jokes are less funny, and it’s disappointing as an audience member to be fed more of the same. But hey, I take it for what it is. No one forced me to buy a ticket. Speaking of: this film made even more money than the original, which had already shattered records. It cost $80 million to make (vs $30 mil for the original) and took in $581 million at the US box office (vs $467 mil for the 1st), becoming the highest-grossing comedy and highest-grossing R-rated film ever, and it’s for this reason that we can expect more of the same, from all of Hollywood.
What we should really be complaining about is the state of mediocrity and predictability with films in general. It’s not Todd Phillips’ fault that he gets to throw in every raunchy joke he can think of, or an intense car stunt into his comedies (which he does really well btw). It’s probably demanded of his brand by the studio. What’s sad is that there are no daring stories being told - that every film, no matter the genre, follows the same basic narrative structure. If the Hangover guys choose to really take a risk next time, this is what I’d like to see: Bradly wakes up and stumbles from his bed. He falls on the couch and wakes up Ed, who passed out there. They order some greasy food and smoke a bunch of pot. Zach comes downstairs with some girl he took home, who leaves in shame. Maybe little journeys are taken in their minds that seek comfort, clarity and sanctuary from too much debauchery. Otherwise, they watch TV all day. That’s a hangover.
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