Movie #224 The Hangover II *2011*

Over the weekend my girlfriend and I made a trip to the great northern wilderness of Canada.  Technically we were rarely far enough into the country to the point that we couldn't see the USA.  But while we were over there we decided to see a movie.  I had never seen a movie in a foreign country before.  I keep all my ticket stubs and frame them at the end of the year.  I thought it would be cool to have tickets from a far away land.  Looking back, I guess I could have done without.

I should start this review by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed the first Hangover movie.  I laughed very hard at it and I appreciated what it was doing narratively.  It's structure was all about a hard partying night, but we don't see that night.  We start the night then fade to black.  We then open on the aftermath of the wildest party that Las Vegas has ever seen.  Then the movie becomes a mystery of sorts trying to use clues to put back the pieces of what happened the night before and where their lost friend has gone to. That was a very creative way to tell a story like this.  I saw this film with a friend and his special lady and I remember he actually fell out of his seat he was laughing so hard.  That is no exageration.  He fell out of his seat.  His butt hit the floor.

All that having been said I was apprehensive about going into this film.  I had seen a trailer and it looked bad.  It looked like they were simply trying to rely on the popularity of the first film.  I was curious thought and if this film contained 50% of the laughs I would be satisfied.  I was NOT satisfied.  This movie is a disaster.  It was about 20 minutes in when I realized I hadn't laughed once.  I then started thinking about how many time I had laughed by then at Bridesmaids.  But I looked at my girlfriend and we sort of chuckeled at how bad the movie was so far.  I did tell her thought that I had faith that is could still be turned around.  Man was I wrong.  After about an hour (which felt much longer) I still had only mildly laughed a time or two, there was a scene where Zach G. meditates and finds some clues to the missing person.  This scene would have been enough to justify walking out of the movie.  The last time I remember wanting to walk out of a theater was The Happening.  In both cases though I stuck it out for bragging rights.  And it wasn't just me and my special lady.  The theater had maybe 30 people in it.  I heard less than 10 laughs combined from the entire crowd.  Maybe this was not the target demographic, but this movie fell flat at my showing.

For more detail on the film it's self; it is the exact same plot as the first film only set in Thailand.  Not only is it the same plot, they use the same jokes.  To be more specific they comment on the jokes that they made in the first film.  For example: in the first film Zach G. talks about his pager and if the hotel is pager friendly.  He makes mention that he is not getting a "sig on his beep".  In the context of the film it is a pretty funny moment.  In part II Zach G. makes a reference to his pager and we are supposed to remember the pager stuff from part I and piss ourselves laughing.  It didn't work.  Neither did the shock humor stuff.  It was not as raunchy as the first film, it should have come as a surprise to no one what was going on.  I remember a scene where the Chinese guy is locked in a freezer.  As one of the character was opening the cooler I motioned for the Chinese guy to jump out with my hand.  Which he of course did, just like he jumped out of the trunk in part I.  See, ain't that funny?

If you think that a monkey in a vest is funny, maybe the Hangover II is for you.  Really?  A monkey?  I can see this getting pitched in a board room:

"We plan to do The Hangover II exactally like Hangover I except in a different location".
"I like it but it is missing something.  It needs more.....spunk".
"I GOT IT!  A monkey!"
"Ehh.  Don't get me wrong, monkey = funny, but we need to go bigger."
"How about a tap dancing monkey?"
"No it has to be more risque."
"How about a crack smoking monkey?"
"I like it, I like it...but smoking crack sends the wrong message.  Lets make it a cigarette smoking monkey."
"With a tiny denim Rolling Stones jacket on?"
"That's GOLD Jerry!!!"

I guess that is why they make movies and I write crappy reviews.  The Hangover II has the record for opening weekend top grossing comedy of all time.  It blew the competition out of the weater.

Here are a few other of my complaints.  I didn't believe that these guys would be friends at all.  The Bradly Cooper character is just an absolute ass hole.  I don't know what he brings to the table as a friend and why these guys would like to hang out with him.  Zach G. has taken his character into all sorts of strange places in this movie.  In Part I he was a guy that didn't fit in and surely had some issues.  In this film he borders on sociopath with a hint of retardation.  Sort of like Jonna Hill in Cyrus.  I laughed at him at first, then I realized that this is a deeply disturbed and mentally unstable person.  There is an unexplainable car chase in this movie that served no purpose and just looked bad.  I don't normally mind stereotypes being skewered for comedy, but this film borders on racial hatred.  The whole movie carries a duchebag feel with it.  There is supposed to be a big surprise guest near the end of the movie, but it fell with a thud as well and felt a bit defeatist.

Some things I liked about the movie.  It was shot largely on location and it looks nice to beautiful when it is supposed to.  One of my favorite unintentionally funny scenes is when they are calling the wives at the start of the movie to tell them what is going on.  Brady Cooper says something to the effect of "It happened again". I instantly thought of the fake Scorcher trailer at the start of Tropic Thunder.  Where in a world engulfed in flames they called one man...  When it happened 4 more times...  I laughed hard then, but that was at the movie not with it.

I won't make a big deal about this complaint.   I believe an artist should be able to express themselves as they see fit.  I don't believe in any type of censorship.  But this films finds a way to use the same camera roll gimmick that they used during the end credits of the first film.  In this film the pictures have way less impact until I thing the 2nd to last picture.  It only shows it for a second and I had to check to make sure I was seeing it right, but there is a shot that parody's Eddie Addams photo of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan Executing a Viet Cong prisoner .  I found it distasteful and inappropriate.  I am glad to see other critics like Ebert and Roper mentioning it in their reviews as well.

Finally, I wonder how this movie would play for a person that hasn't seen the first film?  Knowing the jokes are coning or that a reference to a joke to be more accurate is coming takes away a lot from the movie.  I wonder if seeing it with fresh untainted eyes would make this as clever and inventive as the Hangover I?  If you haven't seen Hangover I and for some reason you see #2, let me know what you think.

I give The Hangover II ★1/2.

Movie #212 Bridesmaids *2011*

When I think back at the moments in my life that I found to be the funniest, rarely are they the ones that started with a joke or a prank.  They are the moments that began with mundane, real life instances that for whatever reason became silly or embarrassing.  I'm talking about the "you had to be there" moments that are not funny at all when retold after the fact.

That is one of the reasons comedy is so difficult to write for the screen.  If you are trying to write funny jokes or set up's, there is a feeling of "trying to hard" that can totally kill any comedic momentum that you are building.  The lazy man's way around this is to insert gross out humor or shock humor.  This type of comedy is not really intended to make you laugh so much as it is to get any type of visceral reaction out of you.  The genius of the Jackass movies is that it is all shock humor.  It is like comedy porn.  Just funny money shot after funny money shot.

Bridesmaids could have fallen into the same trappings as so many other recent entries into the comedy genre.  But instead the writer and start Kristen Wiig developed a film that bounces back and forth from high brow to low brow comedy with the greatest of ease.  That is not to say that there aren't a few shocking moments in the movie.  After a suspicious meal at a low end Indian restaurant Wiig and her ensemble incurred  some gastrointestinal issues.   I have to admit to laughing at this scene more that I would have thought.

I did laugh more hardily and in a way that I will remember much more based on the small and seemingly insignificant elements of the film.  Wiig has a knack for hitting the back end of a joke or bit better than anyone working that I know of.  A traditional joke consists of two elements: The Set Up and The Punchline.  There are many variations of the formula of course, but Wiig makes a joke last forever by quitely tailing off the jokes with an ever decreasing distance.

So far I have mostly spoke of Wiig but this really is a ensemble piece.  I won't list all the actresses and actors, but I will point out a few high and low points.  Melissa McCarthy is getting a lot of praise for her performance.  She was funny, but in all fairness she had one of the schitickiest roles.  Her physical humor was flawless.  I didn't believe her character arc.  She appears near the end of the movie to life the spirits of another of the ladies and I didn't know where that came from.  Imagine a person you meet a a common friends party and then see a few more time in social situations coming over to your house to help you morn the loos of a grandparent.  That is kind of what that scene felt like to me.

Speaking of character arcs, both Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey were not so much characters as they were stereotypes.  The advertising even sold the movie this way.  The shy one and the repressed mother of 3.  I laughed at them, but not always in the way I was supposed to.  I enjoyed Maya Rudolph.  I thought her and Wiig had great chemistry and seemed like life long friends.  Rose Byrne was neither here nor there for me.

The one actor that really stood out and I felt benefited the most from this movie was Chris O'Dowd.  He plays a state trooper who falls for Wiig until she breaks his heart.  Very honest and again, quietly funny performance.

I give Bridesmaids ★★★1/2.