HANGOVER 2

The Hangover Part II: Directed by Todd Phillips. Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis/written by Craig Mazin, Scot Armstrong, Todd Phillips, from characters by Jon Lucas, Scott Moore/ rated R/1 hr 42 min.

Bifocal Review by Barbara and Gordon Richiusa

(B) I’ve heard of pushing the envelope, but this ripped up the envelope and threw it away. Since the first Hangover was such a success (and very funny), I guess they had to see how far they could go before it was TOO far. In my opinion, they found out. I’m not a fan of this kind of film. I’m not too fond of a movie that has to resort to male, full-frontal nudity (and every joke and comedy situation that goes along with that set-up) over and over again as the main source of humor (although, I have to admit, that this obsession with the penis, does make this a realistic film for most men). My favorite scene in the film was the morning after “the Hangover” and the reaction of Ed Helms to finding out what he had done the night before (you’ll have to see the movie to find out what that is—I’m not fond of spoilers, either). I am also not happy with the development of Galifianakis’ character from the first film as an oddball that I could sympathize with to a guy who is cruel to his parents and has some sort of undefined mental disorder. As a mother, I especially didn’t like the way his character treated his own mother. I give this one a two.

(G) The first thing that came to my mind, as I walked out the theater doors, immediately after seeing THE HANGOVER Part II, was the punch line to one of my own, “reoccurring themed” jokes: “I hate it when that happens.” I give it a THREE BINOCS! With Barbara’s two and some kind of math function, I think that averages out to 2.5 on the binocular scale. I have to add that the scenery was fantastic and a couple of cameos (including a cigarette smoking monkey that we’ve all seen on the internet) made this as much fun (on a different level) as the first Hangover, in my opinion. I know that there is a third offering in the works. So, I have to wonder what new direction the franchise will go since it is obvious that they are trying to outdo themselves while staying true to the basic simple-minded formula of adult, male humor that make the Hangover movies enjoyable.