Sunday 29 May 2011

The Hangover 2

I find myself in the cinema at the very least once per week so the amount of cinema visits each year is reasonably high however the percentage of these visits which are to see comedies is very low.

The first Hangover was fun - I like farcical comedy and The Hangover pulled it off quite well. The sequel was as much as a surprise as it was inevitable so on opening weekend The Nerdy Trio found themselves seeing what must be only our second comedy of the year (the other being Easy A).

PLOT: If you have seen The Hangover you have seen The Hangover 2 - kindly swap Vegas for Bangkok and monkey for tiger and Robert‘s your fathers brother (so to speak). END PLOT

It is quite an achievement for Todd Phillips to brazen out the fact that The Hangover essentially remade itself with The Hangover 2 and be completely unapologetic. The plot follows exactly the same beats as its predecessor only this time the quest to find their missing friend becomes more elaborate and extreme.

The Hangover 2 is one of the most laziest concepts for a film in recent history but it does have one very important thing going for it - the cast.

Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis are all likeable enough to almost make you succeed in blocking out the overwhelming sense of déjà vu. They are all very fine in their roles and are fun to watch on screen. If it wasn’t for the cast The Hangover would have slipped by unnoticed and again they save the day.

This time around we see a lot more of Mr Chow (on several levels) however the sub-plot with Paul Giamatti, Interpol and Chow’s subsequent arrest bogged down what was already a slightly over long running time and was the driest part of the film.

As with all comedies some of the set pieces worked and were genuinely amusing and some fell completely flat - monkey’s smoking is not funny and to be honest I don't even find it particularly controversial. Chow and the monkey should be given to Bangkok never to be seen again.

The Hangover 2 is amusing and I did find myself chuckling away on several occasions at its sheer stupidity but it is in no way a great film. It doesn’t have that little sliver of originality to separate it from The Hangover . The Hangover 2 gets a 5/10 - the cast can reunite in ten years time for the inevitable reunion drink but until then sober they should stay.

It didn’t make me any less in love with Bradley Cooper and for that I am somewhat grateful and quite frankly a little relieved.

9 comments:

  1. sounds like hangover was a hangover rerun lol thank you and god bless

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  2. Lazy is a perfect word, I found it funny from time to time but its just so bloody lazy.

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  3. Brent the anonymous...still cannot sign in!!

    I didn't dislike this but it is definitely a re-run of Vegas Bangkok style. It has some good laughs but I don't think I'll go and see it again like I did the first! I think my brain was in neutral when I saw this because I enjoyed it more than I know I should have!!

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  4. Roy - it was a hangover without the fun the night before!

    D - it was amusing but it irritated me by its laziness. It was saved by the likeability of the cast

    B - what's happened your account? hope you get it fixed okay. It's great fun when you enjoy a movie more than it warrants but on this occasion it just wasn't happening for me

    X-Men this week - maximum levels of gushing adoration will be deployed by me :-D

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  5. Brent.

    I can't comment under my own name. I type a comment and have to sign in. I do and all the bloody thing does is send me ina never endind circle of signing in. I'm not alone and it has been over a week that I've had the problem. It is frustrating and I wonder when it will be fixed.

    HOII I think was a guilty peasure for me. Dumb fun at the right time!! X-Men..hmmm, not a great fan but guess who will see it anyway!! I hope it is better than Wolverine which I found somewhat lame.

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  6. Brent...I hate being 'anonymous'!

    Are you venturing into Belfast for the screening of Titantic to mark the 100th anniversary of its launching?! Just read of it the paper today. A good occasion to be a part of considering where it was built!

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  7. I never saw Titanic first time around (must be the only person on earth) in the cinema and I am going to miss it this weekend too.

    Tomorrow will be a quick jaunt up and down to Belfast for a Spanish exam as I am going to a Wedding do on Saturday night!

    There is lots of posters up around Belfast for the celebrations but didn't really pay much attention to them!

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  8. There *are* lots of posters up!

    rushed that post!

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  9. Brent.

    My god I almost fell out of my chair...you didn't sse Titanic on the big screen?!! The romance was a bit too lovey dovey for my taste, but kudos it was overall a good movie. Got sick to death of hearing Celine Dion on the radio every half hour though warbling out ' My heart will go on'!
    Pity you'll miss it as it would be a great thing to be a part of!

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