Never in my recollection has my anticipation for a third film in a series dropped off so sharply from my anticipation levels for the second film. The Hangover offered something approaching freshness. It was a massive blockbuster and I believe it deserved the following that it received. There was energy in the structure of the movie. The basic premise was over the top and the character work was pretty wonderful. The ensemble had a real energy and chemistry that propelled the film to a gargantuan box office haul.
I don’t remember a lot about Hangover II except that it was so fully and thoroughly identical to the original film that I was dumbfounded. Right up until the lights dimmed and The Hangover Part III began to play, I’ve wondered whether director Todd Phillips had crafted the second installment of the series as a giant middle finger to the audience or if it was just a genuine misfire. Don’t get me wrong, I remember laughing a decent bit during The Hangover II, and for the most part… that is what I’m looking for in my comedies. But by the time Hangover II ended… the moment had passed for me. I had seen all I really needed to see from this saga of debauchery.
The Hangover Part III, I believe, answers that years old question I had about Phillips’ intentions with the second film. I believe part II was simply a misfire, not a contemptuous “Eff you.” Why do I say so? Well, because The Hangover Part III seems to go out of its way to offer a “Hangover-like” comedy experience without many of the same exact gags and structures of the first two. For instance… there isn’t really a “hangover” in The Hangover Part III. And I am all for that.
So yeah, I’m about to mount a fairly passionless and un-invested defense of The Hangover Part III.
It is really important for me to note, however, that I have an absolutely atrocious long-term memory. I honestly think I should have myself checked out. To provide an example… even after JUST watching The Hangover Part III, in which Heather Graham makes a “return” appearance, I have literally zero recollection of Heather Graham’s presence in the first film. None. And while I know a bunch of really dark stuff went down in the sequel, including a near-fatal drug overdose and a monkey… I don’t really remember a lot of plot specifics there either. Another wedding happened… and re-hash, re-hash, re-hash.
I bring up my terrible memory just because it is worth noting how blank my slate was walking into The Hangover Part III, and how little of an impact either of the prior films had on my life. (That said, even great films fade from my memory more than I want them to.)
What worked for me in Hangover III? A lot, actually. I think Todd Phillips is the Michael Bay of comedy films in that his movies have a distinct and stylish color palette that I actually respond to aesthetically. This series has a glossy look that is a lot of fun, although that credit may belong to cinematographer Lawrence Sher. And speaking of Michael Bay… Hangover III probably works a lot better as some kind of wacky heist/road trip/thriller than it does as a hard-R comedy. There are different segments throughout the movie that feel like fun genre experiments. There is a prison break, a daring penthouse break-in, and even a freakin’ gold heist. I’m such a sucker for action set pieces that each of these little mini-games inside of The Hangover Part III felt fun to me. And they were well executed on screen. I’d support a Todd Phillips buddy cop action/comedy one of these days.
And this brings me to another point of interest. Quite a few people online bristled at the tagline for the film: “The epic conclusion to the trilogy of mayhem and bad decisions.” Is this REALLY a trilogy, or is this just the case of a first film making a ton of money and a franchise being born? I think we can all agree that the latter is the reality, which is why so many were frustrated by the tagline’s insistence that this was intended to be some kind of trilogy. And I totally agree with that criticism. But here’s the funny thing: This movie really does seem to be embracing the concept of a trilogy. By ditching some of the structure and plot skeletons of the first two movies, Part III tries really hard to add a sense of mythology and back story to the whole series.
Is this a successful exercise? Well, that is up for debate. I was actually on board with the inciting incident of the movie being Alan’s (Zack Galifianakis) need for an intervention. The gang gets back together not for a wedding, but to give Alan a hand. And let’s face it, Alan is really the heart and soul of these films. So I was happy to see Alan be the thematic focus of this movie. Less successful is the introduction of the “real” plot of the movie. John Goodman shows up as some gangster guy who kidnaps that one guy who is always missing during these movies and tells them they have to bring him Chow (Ken Jeong) because… there needed to be a plot. This whole gangster set up requires a painful amount of back story and exposition to establish, and the film falters here for sure. But at the same time, one of the most interesting elements of the film comes into play as well… which is that the terrible decisions of these rich white American bros FINALLY seem to have a little bit of consequence. Their horrible actions of the past are coming back to haunt them a little bit here, and I like that attempt at taking these guys down a peg or two.
So Mr. Chow is elevated to the status of some kind of “force of nature” epic gangster, and the whole movie seems to be attempting to build up a weight and a mythology to the proceedings. And I can appreciate all of that, but you know what would have made The Hangover Part III way better? If it had been the second film in the series. And for the most part, that is how I’m going to see it from here on out. The second film is a far worse transgressor, in my opinion, than this outing. And little-to-nothing changed for our characters in that second film. So, this third installment offers a real character arc of sorts for Alan, and I respect that.
I did enjoy my time in the theater while watching The Hangover Part III. I won’t spend a lot of energy defending it or recommending it to anyone. But there was a valiant attempt at course correction after that awful second film and I’m satisfied with this being the final chapter to a series that was retrofitted into a trilogy.
And I’m Out.
Originally published at old.cinapse.co on May 25, 2013.