As anyone who has ever tried online dating will tell you, it’s a soul-battering experience. You begin with high hopes and, after months or years of trying, wind up with horror stories and, hopefully, a good sense of humor about it all. What does online dating have to do with The Hangover Part II, the movie I’m reviewing?
As I sat watching the film today, I couldn’t help but feel the way I used to when I'd walk into a and meet someone from a dating site who was nothing like he’d advertised himself to be. My hopes would be dashed, I’d be disappointed, and I’d be annoyed with myself for having even medium expectations, much less high ones. In other words, I was hoping that Hangover 2 would be a good date, and time well-spent. Instead, I ended up feeling like I’d been lied to in its profile.
The setup is pretty basic. Nebbishy dentist Stu (Ed Helms) is getting married in Thailand (only in the movies would a guy who looks like Stu marry a gorgeous, rich, utterly sweet Thai woman who is genuinely in love with him). His best friends Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) join him, along with his future brother-in-law Teddy (Mason Lee). The night of the rehearsal dinner, the guys gather on the beach, around a bonfire for just one beer before bed. Stu, Alan and Phil wake up the next morning in a grungy hotel in Bangkok.
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Unfortunately, Teddy is missing and Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) has shown up from the first Hangover with a huge bag of cocaine. Stu has a Mike Tyson face tattoo and Alan has adopted a monkey. I mean, all of this sounds funny, right? It should be.
Unfortunately, most of the comedy here isn’t very funny. The joke of Stu’s face tattoo is completely squandered, and unfortunately, Zach Galifianakis plays Alan without the maniacal gleam in his eye that made you wonder if he might snap and kill someone. Bradley Cooper’s role as straight man makes him merely boring. Only Ken Jeong seems to be having any fun, and he disappears for most of the movie. His absence is felt.
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I wanted to love this movie. In fact, I was counting on loving it. But Hangover 2 delivers only a couple of laughs, and if I’d been on a date with it, I wouldn’t have even finished my cup of coffee.
Two Patches out of Five
Overheard in the Ladies Room
“Did you like it?”
“It was OK.”
“I liked the first one better.”
“Yeah. Me, too. It was funnier, don’t you think?”
