Movie Review: THE HANGOVER PART II

THE HANGOVER PART II

2011
R

The Hangover Part II is a 2011 comedy film directed by Todd Phillips that serves as a sequel to the 2009 smash-hit, The Hangover. This time around, we're heading off to Thailand as Stu (Ed Helms) prepares to marry Lauren (Jamie Chung). As one can imagine, his best friends Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Doug (Justin Bartha) are headed there as well, and a late addition sees the slightly-troubled Alan (Zach Galifianakis) also attending the wedding. Much to Stu's reluctance, he's talked into having a beer after a pre-wedding party, and fans of the original film will know exactly where the film is going. The following morning, Stu, Phil and Alan awaken in a seedy motel in Bangkok without any memory of the night before. The key difference, however, is that they haven't lost Doug; instead, they've managed to lose Lauren's sixteen-year-old brother Teddy (Mason Lee). As they try to piece together the events of the previous night in order to find their lost friend, they utilize the help of a familiar face in Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), whose status as an international criminal only muddies their plans.

After The Hangover raked in nearly $280 million in the United States and garnered a Golden Globe win for Best Musical or Comedy, anyone could've guessed that a sequel loomed somewhere on the horizon. Rather than take us back to Las Vegas, the screenwriters chose to take us somewhere a little more exotic. I personally think that Thailand proved to be a perfect choice, considering a lot of the stereotypes that we Westerners have concerning the seedy areas there. So as one can imagine, I had high hopes going into this flick.

Unfortunately, Part II didn't really reach those expectations, at least for me. Everyone in my theater was rolling with laughter, and while I did laugh quite a bit, I couldn't quite see how any of it was different than the previous film. Aside from the locale, Part II seemed more like a remake than a sequel. A lot of the jokes seemed forced, and the best ones were the ones that directly referenced the events of the original film. Yes, some of the jokes are grand, but for the most part, it all felt a little bit stale to me.

Even the level of acting was a little below where it was in the original film. Our lead trio (Helms, Cooper and Galifianakis) should have been the most consistent, but only Galifianakis brings anything close to an A-game. Cooper and Helms are essentially carbon-copies of their previous personas, and while Galifianakis doesn't offer anything drastically different, his character still seems a little bit fresh. Ken Jeong is easily the best part of the film, bringing a much-needed manic energy that the rest of the actors somehow forgot to bring. I was completely glued to the screen whenever Jeong happened to grace it, and I only wish we could've gotten a little bit more. Oh, and Paul Giamatti makes a bit of an extended cameo, but I'm still debating whether it was entirely necessary.

(On a side note, those of you who read my breakdown of the film's original teaser trailer know that I said Liam Neeson would be making a cameo appearance in lieu of the preferred Mel Gibson. I can sadly report that neither of them appears in the film, so don't get your hopes up.)

Ultimately, The Hangover Part II just seemed a little bit off throughout its entire run-time. I think my sister put it best when she said that the original film offered a shock value that no one was really expecting. Because the first film had pushed the limits so far, we came to expect that the sequel would try to do the same. Yes, there's still quite a bit of shock value in Part II, but I think that the audience - and especially myself - was a little more braced for what we were about to see. And I think that works against the film even if it shouldn't. It's terribly difficult to make a sequel that outdoes the original, and Part II doesn't quite reach the level of the original. That's not to say it's not entertaining. I'll be the first to admit that I laughed quite a bit, but that pang of originality that surrounded the original film simply didn't translate to this one.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B-
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Movie Review: CEDAR RAPIDS

CEDAR RAPIDS

2011
R

Cedar Rapids is a 2011 comedy directed by Miguel Arteta. It follows Tim Lippe (Ed Helms), a naïve insurance salesman from a small town in Wisconsin, who is sent to Cedar Rapids for an annual insurance salesman convention in the hopes that he can help his firm win the coveted two-diamond award. We learn rather early on how repressed Tim actually is - for example, until his trip to Cedar Rapids, he had never once set foot on a plane. When he gets to the convention's hotel, he meets his two roommates: Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) and Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly). Ronald is a business-oriented man with a string of goals, and Dean is a party-first, work-later type of guy. Together, they attempt to bring Tim out of his shell. On the first night, they take him to a bar where he meets Joan (Anne Heche). As the two get to know each other, an attraction starts to grow, ultimately leading to their spending the night together. Upon waking the next morning, Joan informs Tim that his insurance company's previous lead salesman (Thomas Lennon, in a cameo) had to pay handsomely to win the two-diamond award, causing Tim to question whether it was worth the effort to grab the honor through such dirty schemes. When he learns that his company is being sold to another owner, Tim sets out to expose the corruption within the insurance conglomerate hosting the convention.

I'm going to start with acting because I think that's where Cedar Rapids mostly succeeds. Helms is good enough for us to actually care about his character from time to time, but he's nowhere near the comic brilliance he brought to 2009's The Hangover. I have a feeling Helms may very well end up being like Paul Rudd - a comic actor who can be brilliant in supporting roles but only so-so as a lead. Our other big three - Whitlock, Reilly and Heche - all do very well. Whitlock has one or two scenes that are downright hilarious, but he's otherwise a little unnecessary. I'm normally not a fan of Reilly, so it took quite a bit for me to fall into his wily charms. By the end of the flick, however, I didn't completely hate him, so that's saying quite a bit. Heche is also very good and may provide the best performance in the film. We've also got a slew of good performances from our smaller roles. Be watching for the supporting roles from Alia Shawkat, Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Mike O'Malley and Sigourney Weaver, and for the cameos from the aforementioned Lennon and Rob Corddry.

I did have some issue with the screenplay. I felt like it was a little bit stale, in that, I never really had an question as to its direction. It all seemed rather predictable, but that's really neither here nor there. The real problem is that the movie just isn't all that funny. The jokes just didn't really get me laughing. Sure, I chuckled here and there, but there wasn't a slew of top-rate comedy all throughout. When you're marketing a movie as a comedy, this proves to be a problem. If you want people to laugh during your movie, you should probably make it funny enough to actually make them laugh. To be fair, I did go see this alone, and there were only two other people in the theater. I usually don't watch comedies on my own because you don't laugh as much as you do when you're with a group of people. That could've been the problem, but the best comedies will make you laugh regardless. So good try, I suppose, but I just couldn't find much of the humor to be all that funny.

Cedar Rapids is by no means a bad film, but it's not really one that you should be jumping out of your seat to go see. It has its moments, and it's definitely full of heart, but on the whole, it's not going to stand the test of time. Whether that's good or bad, I do not know. I do think that you should see this with more than just yourself because it's not a movie you're going to laugh at on your own. I do have clear biases against John C. Reilly as well, so that probably aided in the fact that I didn't find it all that funny. However, if you're into his brand of humor, Cedar Rapids might be right up your alley.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: C
0.5 Thumbs Up

Trailer Breakdown: THE HANGOVER PART II

If you read my review of the new film Hall Pass from earlier today, then you'll have seen the teaser trailer for the upcoming film, The Hangover Part II. Now, I don't know if Hall Pass was the first movie with which the trailer was played, but it was definitely the first time I've seen it. That being said, the teaser did raise a number of questions, so now, I'd like to issue my first ever "Trailer Breakdown" where I bring you those questions and give my thoughts. If people like this, I'll do more of them as trailers for big-time flicks arise, but let's stick with the present. Everybody saw and loved The Hangover back in 2009. They loved it so much, in fact, that it nabbed the Golden Globe win for Best Comedy or Musical of the year. It did so well at the box office that the Warner Brothers called for a sequel. Here's the trailer, in case you have yet to see it:

So, obviously, there's a few pressing issues (four, to be exact) that immediately come to mind. Let's talk about them, shall we?

1. Where the hell are the guys this time?
Actually, I didn't really think that when I was watching the trailer because I already knew the answer. The gang rocked Las Vegas in the first installment, but this time around, they're taking their talents to Thailand (Bangkok, to be specific). They're going from one end of the spectrum to the other, and to be honest, I'm pretty excited. There's so many stereotypes that go with male American travelers in Thailand that we should be in for quite a treat.

2. What's with Alan's (Zach Galifianakis) shaved head?
Normally, I'd assume that an actor would've just chosen to do their 'do in a different manner. However, this is Zach Galifianakis. The man's almost instantly recognizable because of the exuberant growth on his head and face. To have it all taken off the top is a tad bit shocking, so I'm thinking it has something to do with the film and its story.

3. On that note, what's the deal with the tattoo around Stu's (Ed Helms) left eye?
This also has to be a part of the story. Considering you can make a quick trip to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and find out for yourself, I'll just let the cat out of the bag: the gang is traveling to Bangkok for Stu's wedding. That means it's his bachelor party this time around. However, the tattoo also plays some significance considering some of the press from the film's shoot over the past few months. Originally, the film was to have a Mel Gibson cameo as Bangkok tattoo artist, but Galifianakis urged director Todd Phillips to reconsider the casting. As much as I think the Gibson cameo would've proven priceless, he was released from the film in favor of Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper's co-star from The A-Team. It'll be good, but Gibson would've been perfect, especially considering his recent problems. So, I'm assuming that Neeson will be the one giving Stu this tattoo, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

4. And finally, will the monkey be the new Baby Carlos?
The second I saw the monkey ambling along ahead of our three amigos, I instantly thought back to everyone's favorite sunglasses-wearing infant. He was the rock of the group that brought them together while keeping them from tearing each other apart! (well, maybe I don't really think that, but I had to add a little bit of flavor to this post, right?) So, now that Baby Carlos is safely with his mother back in Las Vegas (we're assuming), we need another small creature to please the girls we take to the theater. The monkey could totally fulfill the cuteness factor they so desperately crave.

I know I didn't answer anything definitively, but I don't really think anybody could at this point in time. It's more just musings that we can think about until we get a longer trailer. Or until the film is released on May 26. Until then, ponder all you want, but I'm sure this'll be a smash hit just like its predecessor.