Hangover Part II, The

Stars: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Paul Giamatti, Mason Lee, Jamie Chung, Nirut Sirichanya

Director: Todd Phillips

The Hangover raised enough laughs for a couple of comedies. Which is just as well, since this stolid sequel (more of a remake, actually, with the setting changed from Las Vegas to Bangkok) is sadly mostly mirthless as the Wolfpack Cooper, Helms, Galifianakis and Bartha travel to Thailand for yet another bachelor party which ends in yet another slew of crude, rude but not very funny adventures which mirror their original exploits with alleged added Oriental spice. Which may explain why Bangkok comes out best. The next best performance is given by a clever Capuchin monkey sporting a jacket with a Rolling Stone logo on it.

Once again Cooper and Company wake up addled after a lurid night on the tiles. Only this time theyre not in a Vegas palace but in a filthy Bangkok dive. There isnt a baby in the room, this time. Instead they find the aforementioned savvy chain-smoking Capuchin monkey and discover Helms 16-year-old future brother-in-law Mason has vanished, leaving behind his severed finger in a bowl of water. After which our Tarnished Heroes traverse the city raising various ruckuses as they hunt for the missing lad, tangle with Russian hoods and encounter Oriental gangster Jeong. Plenty happens, including a lively chase through the streets the city, but laughs are few and far between.

The stars work hard in the face of co-writer-director Phillips' frenetic screenplay. Phillips sensibly saves the best for last with a genuinely funny series of photographs of the crazy crew during their nighttime sorties in the end credits.

My best advice drink enough beforehand to develop The Hangover Part III!

Alan Frank

USA 2011. UK Distributor: Warner Bros. Colour.
101 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 2, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 2, Swearing 3.

Review date: 24 May 2011