By: Neil Smith
The wolf pack is back and their pushing all sorts of boundaries. But are they still as funny?
The scenery might have changed but the story stays the same in The Hangover Part II, a raucous follow-up to 2009's comedy smash that defiantly refuses to fix what clearly ain't broke.
Transplanting the original's Las Vegas shenanigans to the even wilder night-spots of Bangkok, director Todd Phillips ups the ante without necessarily boosting the laughs. The result offers a quick jolt of politically incorrect farce that ticks all the right boxes but won't stick in the mind for long.
The same can be said of the debauched antics of the movie's self-styled "Wolfpack" - dentist Stu (Ed Helms), gadabout Phil (Bradley Cooper) and gormless man-child Alan (Zach Galifianakis) - after a trip to Thailand to attend Stu's wedding predictably leads to a drunken night on the tiles.
"I can't believe this is happening again!" sighs Stu as he wakes up in a grotty hotel to find his face tattooed, Alan's bonce shaved and his future brother-in-law (Mason Lee) missing in action. What follows is the traditional race against time as the trio battle to locate their fallen comrade while dodging drug dealers, ladyboys and irate phone calls from Stu's fiancée (Jamie Chung).
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Along the way they encounter a testy mob boss (Paul Giamatti), a silent monk and an American tattoo artist (Nick Cassavetes) who would have been played by Mel Gibson had his cameo not been nixed by the movie's stars. They also run into Mr Chow (Ken Jeong), the first film's deranged Asian gangster, and a cheeky Capuchin monkey who is seen at one point puffing on a lit cigarette. Over to you, PETA!
The Thai government might not be too thrilled with how The Hangover Part II paints their capital, Phillips and his co-writers (Craig Mazin and Scot Armstrong) inevitably emphasising its more salacious and insalubrious aspects. On the whole, however, the city comes off pretty well, Lawrence Sher's photography taking full advantage of its sprawling majesty, bustle and exotic local colour.
Indeed, it's fair to say Bangkok is as much a star of the movie as Cooper, Helms and Galifianakis and one that all too frequently upstages them. That could be down to the familiarity of the action and their reaction to it. There is a sense, though, that they are slightly going through the motions here, Cooper in particular conveying an exhausted world-weariness that suggests he won't be back for Part III.
One of the original's smartest decisions was to introduce a female element in Heather Graham's happy hooker to counter-act its frat-boy laddishness. With Chung confined to a holiday resort for the whole of the movie, though, there isn't that option this time - unless you count the monkey, a shameless scene-stealer if ever there was one.
Sandwiched between Pirates and X-Men, The Hangover Part II will land into cinemas this weekend, hoover up as much moolah as it can, then disappear into the night. Sure, it's fun while it lasts. Just don't be surprised if you feel used in the morning.
Verdict: Same movie, different time zone.