‘Hangover II’still hilarious,even withpredictable plot

Thegossip circulat-ing themoviereview blogos-phere basically

screams “TheHangoverPart II” is a carbon copy ofits smash-hitpredeces-sor, “TheHangover.”In all hon-esty, that’sa bit of anoverstate-ment, butnot bymuch.While theinfamousWolfpack is traversing boththe stunningly lushscenery and the gritty un-derground of Thailand

instead of the glitteringand glamourousVegas,and the boys lose thebride’s brother rather thanthe groom, it wouldn’t beuncalled for to decry direc-tor ToddPhillips and hiswriters for rehashing (andtherefore diminishing) the2009 plot line, strippersand drugs included.The Phillips-directed

sequel (he also directedthe first movie) takesplace several years afterthe Vegas “incident,” thistime with Stu (Ed Helms,“Ceder Rapids”) being thegroom on deck. There’s adifference, though: His fi-ancée’s (Jamie Chung,“Dragon Ball: Evolution”)parents want the weddingin Thailand. Her father,Fohn (Nirut Sirichanya)thinks Stu is a pansy andharasses him mercilessly.But his prodigy son, Teddy(Mason Lee) is apparentlya Godsend. And of course,as the laws of sequels dic-tate, Teddy has to join theWolfpack. That doesn’t sit

well with Alan (Zack Gali-fianakis, the first“Hangover”), who feelsthreatened and overpro-tective of his best friends.So, while at a bonfire withPhil (Bradley Cooper,“Limitless”), Doug (JustinBartha, “National Treas-ure”), Stu and Teddy, heintroduces some drug-laced marshmallows tothe situation.Cue the time-lapsed cut-

away, and we find Phil,Stu and Alan bloodiedand bruised in the depthsof Bangkok squaller, with-out any memory of thepreceding night. And as inthe original, someone (inthis case, Teddy) has gonemissing. And so we’vecome full-circle, with theboys frantically navigatingthe dangerous streets ofBangkok in search of the16-year-old.As they search, all hell

breaks loose, includingrunning into an angry

crime boss (Paul Giamatti,“Sideways”), a gun-totingRussian mob, a MikeTyson-inspired facial tat-too, a tranny hooker, afinger without a person at-tached to it and adrug-dealing monkey whohas a penchant for mas-turbation. Oh, and Mr.Chow ... Leslie Chow (KenJeong, the first “Hang-over”) ... shows up asAlan’s plus-one, blow andcriminal record in tow.With so much going on,

it’s not surprising that theperformances of Cooper,Helms and Galifianakiscome across as under-whelming. Cooper, afternailing the party boy rolein the first movie, doesnothing more than standaround and look prettythis time. Helms’ charac-ter, however, goes through

some cringe-inducing mis-ery in this version (notthat pulling out his owntooth and marrying atable dancer aren’t miseryincarnate), and it seemsthe torment falls unfairlyon him.Galifianakis, though, is

still gut-wrenchingly fun-ny. He provides the centerin “Part II,” being both id-iotic and touching inequal measures and againstealing the show. Still, it’snot enough to add any-thing fresh, and isn’t thatthe point of a sequel?That’s not to say the se-

quel isn’t incrediblyhilarious and just as de-bauched as the original(even more so in certainsituations), but the beautyof the “The Hangover”was how original it was. Ittook the premise of a Ve-

gas bachelor party and ap-plied Murphy’s Law to it.It was unabashedlyraunchy and debased, vul-gar without once beingapologetic, giving the mid-dle finger to politicalcorrectness. It was, inshort, amazing. However,the sequel merely tookthat concept and appliedit to international waters.If viewed alone and in

its entirety, “Part II”would be a comedy goldmine. But that’s neitherrealistic nor fair. “TheHangover” came first, andit will be the reason why“Part II” will do so well atthe box office.So, while smoking ciga-

rettes with a drug-dealingmonkey would leave youwith an interesting story totell at the reception, “TheHangover Part II,” with allof its insanity and high-oc-tane action, leaves youfeeling as if you’d seen thismovie before, and just abit disappointed. But noworries: The credits morethanmake up for it.Two stars out of five.[Note: While "Part II" it-

self would warrant ahigher score, it's only fairto compare it to the origi-nal, up to which it doesn'tquite stand. This isn't tosay you shouldn't see it,but be prepared for astrong sense of déjà vu.]

�Dominic Baez is the copy

editor/paginator for the EastOregonian. Follow hismovie blog, Silver Screen-ing, for the latest trailers,clips and extras at silver-screening.wordpress.com.

Friday, May 27, 2011 East Oregonian Page 9AENTERTAINMENT

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AP photo by Warner Bros. Pictures, Melinda Sue GordonFrom left, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms are shown in a scenefrom “The Hangover Part II.”

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