Even drunk, you'll hear crickets

Rating: 3/10 (24 December 2011)

* out of (****)
Let's cut to the chase: "The Hangover Part II" is one of the laziest, unfunniest, and crude films I've ever seen and is the perfect candidate for the worst film of the year. The fact that such a trainwreck was greenlit makes me cringe for Hollywood. Yes, Hollywood has sunken low, but this... this is just hitting rock bottom. The most ironic part is that "The Hangover" was one of the best movies of its year. Funny how, fast-forward in time, the iconic sequel winds up being the complete opposite. The sad part such a film like this is making every one of its millions spent back and there'll be more sequels to come, no doubt about it. With a year full of disasters (i.e. "Sucker Punch", "The Rite", "Arthur), we might've found a new stinker award.
So what's so rancid and unforgiving about Todd Phillip's sophomore adventure with these mongoloids? First off, almost 95% of the jokes in this movie are completely recycled. I understand as a sequel, you have to include some homages here and there or your humor might be the same, but almost quote for quote, word by word? That just says a lot about your credibility right there. Second of all, this film is a drag. As the film progresses, it increasingly becomes more dull and uninteresting. And what really takes the cake is how lazy this film is. Anything that would be shocking, yet simultaneously innovative is just presented bland and insipid here. Congratulations, Todd, you're film might just snag up a few Razzies.
The acting? Everyone here is under-looked because they leave Alan to be the star of the show and boy, was that the worst idea fathomable. If you don't already know, my favorite character from the first movie was Alan. Every time he was on-screen he just stole every scene and would have me quoting his lines everyday. Now, he is just a waste of a character and someone I would single-handedly like to punch square in the face. Every other actor just looks like they had the life sucked out of them. Don't even get me started on the amateur, poor direction that the director had his grubby little hands on.
You know what I think was the downfall of this movie? The hype got to everyone's head. Here's an idea for a sequel: Either make it right or simply, just don't make it at all. Aside from a few jokes, which are TV sitcom worthy at best, this would've gotten a one, easily. "The Hangover: Part II" is not only one of the most disappointing films of the year... it's also the worst.