Hangover 2 Saved By Chocolate

Last night I headed downtown to catch the sequel to the Hangover.  I couldn't go wrong on Cheap Night--or so I thought.  Armed with Jones Soda, plain brown rice cakes, and Dubble chocolate bars, I met up with a pal.  Before you raise the eyebrows at rice cakes, it's important to note here that with all the summer movies out there, I'm budgeting the entertainment funds.

We were both excited about seeing the Coop as Phil again.  Quite pleasing to look at, he played the same let's-keep-it-together character as in the last film, but with a meaner twist.  It was odd hearing him say the F-word no less than 50 billion times.  I know, it's rated R for language, nudity, drug use, violence... but come on already.  Did his contract call for so many swear words per page of script?

Added to that, Phil came across as extra prickly and defiant.  I had no fun watching him.  Yeah, he lead the trio, but he had a pissy mood about him and the bit where he tried to steal one of Stu's prescription pads came across as over the top for the character.  He's far less likable in this installment.

And now we come to the role of women in the movie.  Sure, it's about guys and a bachelor party, but in the first one, we got a fitting taste of Heather Graham, who added a sense of feminine balance.  Aside from looking worried and getting upset about the boys' late arrival, the girls didn't say anything.  Now, I must note that a prostitute got a few lines, but she really wasn't what she seemed.  *wink wink*

Plot?  Oh, right, yeah, that thing.  Well, to be honest, I set out to see the movie to get my Phil of the Coop (get it?  Phil?  Fill?...).  Yeah, I laughed along with the other people in the audience at moments, even though the film, scene for scene, copied the first one in its entirety.  I did know that going into it.  Same setup, same action, same ending, the only difference being that it took place in Bangkok instead of Vegas.  Oh, and they went for the gritty look rather than flash, which worked great as an anti-party commercial.

Aside from the grungy core of the film, the intro and wedding scenes were done with some polish.  The opening credits worked as a deceptive pull.  A nice trick, it pulled my guard down, leaving me wide open for things like the chopped finger, multiple flaccid 'weenises,' and what Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) refers to as 'squalor.'

Oh, the monkey.  He smokes (see the suave chromatographic scene with his silhouette), and develops a friendship with Alan (Zach Galifianakis).  He takes the place of the tiger.  Not only do the guys have to return him, they have to retrieve him, so I guess there's a tiny variation on the plot from the first movie.  Yeah.

All in all, despite a few laughs and knowing nods, I wouldn't go see Hangover 2 again, nor would I rent it.  Maybe the cynical presentation put me off, or the forced swearing, or Phil's irritable demeanor, but whatever the root, it fell flat for me.

Ratings:

Hangover 2:  6 / 10 - It gets such a high score because the Coop looked good no matter what scene he showed up in and hey, Ken Jeong is always a laugh.  ...and the music rocked, just as it did in the first one.

plain brown rice cakes: 7 / 10 -  Hey, popcorn always rates as top for grazing food while taking in a movie.  Although much healthier, with far less calories, and far cheaper, the rice needed some sort of spice.

Dubble chocolate:  9 / 10 - Even though it melted on the way to the theater (ooops), it tasted good.  The only issue I had with it was the shape being thick instead of thin and wide like a regular chocolate bar.  Every crispy chocolate bite went down smooth and bonus, it's Fair Trade!  It more than made up for the limp movie.