Don't Fix What Ain't Broke

Rating: 7/10 (29 May 2013)

Alright, here is the review for The Hangover, oh but wait, I already reviewed The Hangover. Is this the Hangover 2? I don't know, maybe because they are the exact same movie. After the success the original Hangover made obviously Hollywood milks the cash cow with a sequel. I'm not going to lie but when I first saw this movie I hated it. I hated how it was exactly the same as the first but after watching it again I started to appreciate it. Call me crazy but I am part of a minority that enjoyed it.
Sure the movie was very similar. It opens with Phil on the phone after a day or two of crazy antics, which is the same. Instead of Stu losing a tooth he gets a face tattoo. Instead of a baby it is an awesome monkey. Teddy becomes lost instead of Doug, and it takes place in Bangkok instead of Las Vegas. Stu is getting married and I kind of expected to marry the girl from the first movie but they needed to go to Bangkok so for the story it made sense. It is his wedding and of course they have a bachelor party and they get drugged, again, they wake up in a mess, again, and similar antics return. Chow returns and when he comes in the movie slows down for me. I really don't like his character and he was a tad overused in the movie. His comedy was a little less forced but his crazy antics were too much for me and I didn't like them.
The old saying "don't fix what ain't broke" probably works best here. I'm perfectly fine with them getting hung over again and finding a missing person again. I was fine with it because it worked and it was still funny. Scene after scene was still funny. Characters did little to change but frequently reminded us of the past adventure. This movie knew what was funny and they stuck to it.
Allan was still the lovable idiot who said and did stupid things. Come on, you can't say you didn't laugh when he made his speech at his wedding. Sure the connection he had with the baby is the exact same as it was with the monkey but that monkey kicked ass. My favorite part of the movie was the monkey and it was funny. The movie was actually funnier the second time then it was the first. People complain and complain that the two movies were the exact same and yes it was but it still worked.
I do agree to a degree with what fans were saying. I was OK with the overall story being the same and characters' being very similar but it was the small details that were the same that annoyed me. The opening scene should not have opened with almost the exact same lines as the ones in the first movie. Stu figured out where Teddy was in a very similar way he did in the first. There were some scenes you could take from Hangover 1 and put into Hangover 2. Lines could be interchanged and in the end this movie really is lazy filmmaking for a quick buck. I didn't like Mike Tysons unnecessary cameo and there were pictures during the credits again. The little things that made the two movies too similar. The problem with Hangover 2 is that it doesn't stick out as its own movie. It's basically called The Hangover.again.
I understand where people are coming from. They wanted to see something new and different. In a way, this movie did do that. There are transgender people, monks, missing fingers, Allan is shaved, and many more things that raise the bar in craziness. Hangover 2 is a lot more crazy then the first. Meaning the night they had in the second was a lot more intense then the first. The movies are very similar and are no different in the end but it was still a good time. I still laughed and I want to laugh when I see these movies. It was very similar but most people I talked to about this movie said it was funny bit too similar to the first. I respond with the simple question, "Was it funny?" when they answer yes then it is mission accomplished for the filmmakers.
I realize this is more of a defense then a review for this movie but it is worth talking about. Unfortunately, this movie is doomed to judgment. As a movie itself it is hysterical but since it follows up the first it is unpopular. It is doomed to comparison to its predecessor. If The Hangover never existed and The Hangover 2 was released instead, I guarantee everybody would have loved it even more then the first. This was a funny movie but I still agree that the first was better.
Overall, The Hangover 2 followed the same recipe to the first. Not much changed and if the Hangover 2 never existed nothing would really happen. This movie doesn't push the story forward in the trilogy. This movie is literally useless but it was still incredibly funny. For what it is it is a good movie but since it follows up the first movie it is a bad movie. I still liked it because I was still interested in the story and every scene made sense. I was still able to piece together the crazy night with the characters and enjoy the experience. The whole gimmick was reused but it still worked. I still had fun. I would have liked if it wasn't a copy and paste replica form the original but it was still good enough to get the WillyT Honorable Mention award. That is really saying something. The first got the seal of approval and that is only one step above the honorable mention.