The Hangover Part II

Two years after the Las Vegas stag party the cast return to take another crack at what was an original and exceptionally funny first movie.

Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis pick up where they left off in Vegas, this time in Thailand for Stu's wedding to his fiance, Lauren. Stu has good intentions, but what starts as a quiet drink around a campfire picks up in a dirty hotel room in Bangkok.

While Ken Jeong makes a hilarious return as Mr. Chow and Galifianakis applies his comedic genius to the film I can't help but feel they could have done more. If you have seen The Hangover and loved it you'll undoubtedly love this, but the novelty of some of the gags has worn off. The plot is very similar and they go over a lot of ground previously covered.

I can't help but feel for Justin Bartha who once again sits this one out as the point of contact back at the hotel while the rest of the gang tear around Bangkok trying to piece together their night out and find Teddy, Lauren's younger brother.

Despite the lack of originality, it's still a funny film and some of the scenes are hilarious. It's a shame they couldn't do more, but unfortunately this just feels like one of those movies they make to cash in on the success of the original, and judging by the $80m budget and $86m opening weekend, it looks like they did just that.

I think The Hangover Part II warrants some praise, and that three stars is more than fair.

The Hangover Part II: ***

Check out the trailer below:



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