The Hangover Part III

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, John Goodman, Melissa McCarthy, Jeffrey Tambor, Heather Graham, Jamie Chung, Mike Epps
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galifianakis), and Stu (Ed Helms) must find Chow (Ken Jeong) after Doug (Justin Bartha) is kidnapped by a ruthless gangster (John Goodman).

Review:

Tim: So, the first Hangover movie was a hilarious film and a major success. The second film played it safe by basically following the exact same formula, and it got a lot of criticism for virtually being a rehash of the original film. With the third film, to round out the trilogy, director Todd Phillips decided to change things up. This time, our protagonists don't wake up with a hangover from a night of unexpected drug use. There's actually no hangovers in the film at all. It's a pretty straightforward action comedy that follows some of the same formula (Doug is once again missing), but really feels like a film that doesn't fit firmly into this franchise. In the end, this is easily the weakest film of the trilogy. I suppose it's a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't thing. Sometimes you just can't win.

I suppose I appreciate the attempt to do something different here. The criticism about The Hangover Part II was that it offered up only twists on the same exact jokes from the original film. While this was somewhat unfair, it was at least partially true. In the face of such criticism, the writers reacted by crafting a story that felt similar, and yet, different. The problem here is that the script felt far too reactionary- like they were giving audiences what they asked for (how can this be a bad thing?). The problem is that the focus was on responding to feedback, when the focus should have been- "How do we tell the best, funniest story possible with these characters?" For this film, they can check off the box "responded to viewer feedback", but they can't check the "finished the trilogy off on a high note" box. That's too bad.

While this film is the worst of the trilogy, that's all relative. This is still a solid film and I enjoyed watching it. That is mostly due to the fact that I love these characters. We've come to know and love Phil, Stu, Doug, and Alan, and I always love seeing them together. The presence alone of Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, and Zach Galifianakis is enough to get me to see this film in theaters. I loved getting to reconnect with these characters once again. That's the biggest strength of the film and the major reason to see it.

Now, the story itself is interesting and engaging- can the Wolf Pack deliver Chow to save Doug's life? Hey, the stakes are pretty high, and I was intrigued to see how it all played out. This was a good action comedy with some mystery elements thrown in. The problem here is that the movie isn't all that funny. Sure, there are a number of humorous moments, and I certainly smiled here and there. Unfortunately, there's nothing laugh-out-loud funny (minus the very funny mid-credits scene). That's a major drawback, and a big reason why this film is the low point of the trilogy. The film was entertaining, but not exactly hilarious, which causes a comedy to lose some quality points.

As I mentioned, the main cast was very good once again and it was fun checking in with them. The supporting cast was mostly good. This trilogy made a major mistake in having Leslie Chow in all three films. I love Ken Jeong, but he shouldn't have been in the second or third film. I just tired of his shtick by this point. John Goodman was a great addition to the cast, as was Melissa McCarthy. I loved seeing Heather Graham and Mike Epps from the first film, although neither had much to do. Still, it was a nice way to complete the circle.

While this film needed to be better, I have to admit that it's still better than a lot of "comedies" nowadays. This is a good film, that's for sure. And yet, in the same breath, this is a movie that needed to be a lot better. The Hangover is a monumental comedy trilogy, and yet, it ends on its weakest note. That's too bad.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Hangover, The Hangover Part II, Due Date, Old School