Man on Film: The Hangover Part II

All right, I quite liked the first Hangover movie. If you need proof, look no further than this review. If you liked The Hangover, you'll love The Hangover Part II. If you don't remember anything about The Hangover. 

Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, and Ed Helms acting in a film that is beneath them

If you do remember the first film in the franchise, however, nearly every joke, gag, or plot twist is repeated in Part II in a slightly more extreme fashion. This is a bad thing. This is the filmic equivalent of The Red Hot Chili Peppers' album Californication--it is essentially an instance of an uninspired artist ripping off their own greatest hits, changing everything just a enough to make sure it isn't just a cover but remaining similar in an extremely unsatisfying and obvious manner.

I would spend the time picking the film apart, but what is the point? They didn't bother writing a new movie. Almost every scene outside of the prologue and epilogue were interchangeable with scenes from the first film.

All I have to say is that if there's a third movie--and given its box office numbers in its first week, there will be--I hope someone decides that it might be a good idea to write a second movie that could stand on its own because they failed to do it here. And I would love it if someone did because I like a lot of the talent involved with the series.