Cinema 2011 #53: The Hangover Part II

The Hangover Part II is everything you’d expect it to be, and nothing more. Fans of the raucous original will undoubtedly howl with laughter at the booze-fueled antics of Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms’ Wolf Pack, as they waver episodically up a muddled memory lane, piecing together just what happened the night before. And those fans mean serious business, given the worldwide gross of $467 million, and Golden Globe, earned by the original, the sleeper hit and critical darling of the 2009. Those less inclined, however, to Todd Philips’ particular brand of American Arsehole Anarchy™ – Old School, Due Date, Road Trip – where grown men make self-serving choices and jokes at the expense of the poor, the aged, women, the disabled, homosexuals, ethnic minorities and anyone else who isn’t a upper middle-class dude, will also get everything they’d expect, and nothing more.