In 2009, the phrase "one crazy night" took on a whole new meaning with the release of Todd Phillips's instant classic, "The Hangover." It seemed unlikely that this popular movie could be topped until the record breaking release of the sequel on May 26.
"The Hangover 2" took to the streets of Bangkok, Thailand which is known for its notorious black-market and back alley activities. Just a few of the night's activities for the Wolf Pack include a chain-smoking monkey, the loss of a finger, and a facial tattoo.
"The Hangover 2" would not be the same without the returning cast of Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zack Galifianakis whose careers have since taken off to new heights. Each of these men help bring together a strong combination of coolness, rationality, and all out craziness that has made the "Hangover" series a standard comparison piece for parties of all sorts everywhere. Returning cast members of the film include a cameo by Mike Tyson and an expanded role for Ken Jeong as the international criminal, Leslie Chow. Paul Giamatti also makes a cameo appearance. Like the Wolf Pack, each of the supporting characters make this film the dark demented comedy that so many film patrons have come to love.
While critical views of the film have been very mixed, viewers everywhere should take "The Hangover 2" at face value. The sequel follows a very similar story line with the original in terms of cause and effect with the only differences being the night's events and who is getting married. Even though there are obvious similarities, audiences everywhere will still laugh and be shocked by a new low in human behavior. Sequels carry the stigma of being worse than the previous, but "The Hangover 2" holds up well in comparison to the original.
After a week in theatres this film has made an impressive $338 million and has broken the record for highest grossing opening weekend for a comedy.
Christopher Spall can be reached at christopher.spall@student.shu.edu.
