The Hangover: Part 2

Ok.  I think everybody loves "The Hangover."  How can you not?  It's one of the funniest movies made in the last 10 years.  Based solely on this, people showed up in droves to see the sequel.  And for this, they were rewarded with almost the exact same movie.  This is not to say that "The Hangover 2" is a bad movie, it's just that the first one is so much better.

In the sequel, Phil, Alan, and Stu throw a bachelor party in Bangkok.  That is primarily the only difference between this and the original.  Every plot point is a mirror image of the original.  Even most of the camera shots are the same.

Now this is not to say that "The Hangover 2" isn't funny.  It is.  It's much funnier than I expected.  As a retread of the original, of course it turned out to be funny.  I still laugh when I watch the original.  However, the jokes in Part 2 tend toward the perceived sleaziness of Bankok.  "The Hangover: Part 2" is never too shy as to utilize male nudity for a laugh (some really great laughs too).

But that sleaziness is part of the problem with this movie (apart from the constant reminders from the characters that "It's happening again!!").  The writers and director obviously felt as if they needed to outdo the original.  Not true!  Just try something else.  A funeral.  A high school reunion (that Alan crashes).  A road trip.  Anything!  Just don't make the same movie twice.

I can recommend this movie and sleep at night, but don't feel like you have to rush out and see it.  If you own the first one, put that one in. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 ( let's hope they try harder on "The Hangover: Part 3")