The Hangover Part II
On the plane Mrs. 1SO decided to rewatch Cars 2 while I picked the only film I hadn't seen. Here was a true test. On my right the film I claim is the year's worst. Directly in front of me, the film many claim is the year's worst. How often would I look to the right with reconsideration, and would I eventually decide to join my wife?
[NOTE: This review is of the airplane version of The Hangover Part II. The language was all still there, but other stuff may have been altered. The film was not letterboxed, and there is a moment of what I'm sure is meant to be shocking nudity that was framed out. But I got the gist of that scene and nothing else was obviously missing.]
I didn't like Hangover II, but I feel like this will be the most positive review from any of us because I didn't hate it either. It starts poorly, completely laughless until the hangover scene. I loved the first Hangover, where every line, scene and situation got at least a smile out of me. (* * * 1/2) This time, a lot of the comedy was forced into the situation instead of developng naturally from it. For example, Zach Galifianakis stole the first film but the writing this time often doesn't know what to do with the character. So they just have him make rude comments at inappropriate times. Sometimes though, Zach gets through with a solid comic bit, like when the guys are getting beat up by a monk for talking. Ed Helms tells the other to shut up, taking a whack every time he yells it. Then it goes quiet and Zach realizes "oh, I get it", which gets him knocked to the ground.
I thought the film would just get worse and more desperate, but by around Paul Giamatti's entrance I was kind of evenly trading laughs for groans. I loved the monkey as a drug pusher and how for Zach this adventure was all about getting the monkey back. (Monkey bike helmet got a laugh. Zach saying goodbye to monkey, a groan.) My favorite performance was Ken Jeong, who now harnesses his pimp daddy cockiness into a real performance. (Those acting lessons on "Community" are paying off.) I also enjoyed the car chase, and once again the solution to the big mystery eluded me even though it ended up being so simple. These are moments. Moments within a bad film. A bad film I enjoyed more than Cars 2.
RATING: * 1/2