okay

Rating: 3/10 (7 November 2013)

uman pain and embarrassment may be the essence of comedy, but animal cruelty â" outside the context of a "Tom and Jerryâ? cartoon â" is hardly funny. Director Todd Phillips' third film about the so-called Wolfpack touts its giraffe decapitation in its trailer; the film also includes the smothering of a chicken with a pillow and the poisoning of dogs. If you complain, you will be told to "lighten upâ? or that "it's just a jokeâ?; these are the same fallback responses employed by the despicable to defend racist and sexist humor, too. The first "Hangoverâ? was troubling yet funny and ingenious; the retread sequel was xenophobic; "Part IIIâ? is merely pointless, as the insufferable Phil (Bradley Cooper), the spineless Stu (Ed Helms) and the pathetic Alan (Zach Galifianakis, squandering a unique and once-promising comic creation) are overshadowed by the reckless and hyper gangster, Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), in a return trip to Las Vegas. Alan experiences an "intervention,â? but he needs to be institutionalized; the film is never less sincere than when in its attempts to make him a sympathetic, Stan Laurelesque innocent