2 Guys 1 Couch

The Wolfpack is back together. Well, apparently it takes a little convincing this time. Alan still has a man-crush on Phil, Stu traded the tooth for a face tattoo and Doug is still mostly-absent, but extremely helpul. It’s relatively the same template (even down to a different Danzig song), but a more grimy setting. The boys go to Thighland for Stu’s wedding and now Bangkok has them.

The main thing lacking in this movie is the element of surprise that most everyone experienced in the first movie. Zach Galifianakis is still the funny guy with the beard and Bradley Cooper is still the douchebag from Wedding Crashers. Ed Helms was probably more popular because of The Office. The expectations were set with the first and they were met with this film.

The thing is, if you liked the first movie, you should love this movie. You have to give Todd Phillips credit for sticking to what works. The first film left most of us wishing there were just a few more minutes, well, he gave us another 102 minutes.

Highlights – Zach Galifianakis is a thief of scenes once again, but Ken Jeong is capable of pulling the spotlight from him, if even for a second.

The other night I was trying to decide what to eat for dinner. I mulled it over and came up with Chinese food and Chipotle. I could go with Chinese, it’s sinfully delicious but can be disgustingly greasy OR I could nosh on some Chipotle which is relatively healthy, but I cannot enjoy the corn salsa now that I have chronic diverticulitis. In the end I went with pizza. Why? I went with pizza because it is a safe option for me. No matter how bad a pizza is made, it is still pizza and thus eatable. 

The reason why I told you that story is because movies like “The Hangover” are the cinematic equivalent of pizza. It may not be something edgy, new, or groundbreaking but at the end of the day it is a safe choice. Shane went over the nuts and bolts of the film. Recycled plot, recycled jokes, even recycled music. Zach again does his normal shtick, which again seems to work considering just looking at him makes me laugh. However, I think this time around the real standout is Ken Jeong who plays Zach’s international criminal pal “Mr Chow”. The singing scene in the elevator is pure genius and will have you laughing out loud. In the end, “The Hangover” franchise is like Pizza: you either you like it or you don’t and luckily for Director Todd Phillips just about everyone likes pizza.

  4 out of 5 stars