Right now, all the little mainstream critics are busy hating on The Hangover, Part II.
Check out Christy Lemire from the Associated Press: “Giving the people what they want is one thing. Making nearly the exact same movie a second time, but shifting the setting to Thailand, is just … what, lazy? Arrogant? Maybe a combination of the two”
And then there’s Roger Ebert (or L’Ebert as the asskissers at Awards Daily used to call him) who apparently took a break from ranting about politics to actually do his job: ‘The Hangover: Part II plays like a challenge to the audience’s capacity for raunchiness. It gets laughs, but some of them are in disbelief.”
Last night, despite not feeling all that great, I went and saw The Hangover, Part II and you know what? I enjoyed it. So there.
Yes, The Hangover, Part II is basically the exact same film as The Hangover except now Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis awaken from their hangover in Bangkok instead of Las Vegas. Also, it’s not the groom that’s missing. It’s the bride’s younger brother. Oh, and Ed Helms has sex with another prostitute but it’s not Heather Graham. No, it’s definitely not Heather Graham.
Otherwise, it’s pretty much the exact same film, a copy so exact that a character gets shot at around the exact same time that a different character got shot in the previous film.
But, honestly, so what? The people paying money to see this film know what they’re getting into when they buy their tickets. Helms, Galifianakis, and Ken Jeong are still funny in their respective roles, Bradley Cooper is so fucking sexy I don’t even know where to begin, and there’s a cute little monkey in the movie too. Is it as good or as funny as the first one? Of course not but did you think it would be? The film made me laugh and, especially when I’m not feeling well, making me laugh is more than enough to win my heart.
As for the mainstream critics — well, before you take their word for it, just remember that Roger Ebert loved The Conspirator and raved, “Not many films this smart can be made.” I rest my case.
Through the Shattered Lens 