The Hangover III – Movie Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms
Directed by Todd Phillips

Phil, Stu and Alan are back for the (at least promised) finale to the Hangover series.  Although the novelty wore out its welcome after the initial film, the third installment brings an original plot that is more interesting than the carbon copy of the second.  While it ties up the series in a nice little bow, the laughs are forced a bit too much to make this nearly as memorable.

Hangover III this time centers on Alan, the likeable overweight bearded man-child played by Zach Galifianakis.  Alan is suffering from the death of his father, and his family decides that it is best for him to spend some time at a mental institution to recover.  Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Doug (Justin Bartha) decide to accompany him on the two-hour drive, in order to make the transition easier for him.  The group is stopped by a gangster named Marshall (John Goodman), who believes that they know the whereabouts of Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong).  Marshall kidnaps Doug, and the remaining trio is tasked with finding Mr. Chow, who has escaped from prison and has stolen a large amount of gold bricks from Marshall.  Hijinks ensue and “The Wolfpack” finds itself in one hilarious situation after another as they do whatever it takes to save their friend Doug.

It’s very much appreciated that the series decided to go with a new story instead of simply rehashing the events from the first film.  The plot is more involved that a typical R-rated comedy and goes to some unexpected places.  Sadly, the humor is pushed way too hard on the audience, who might feel obligated to laugh at the numerous one-liners that, sadly, just aren’t that funny.  It’s not without its genuinely amusing moments, but they are interspersed among far too many forced set ups that detract from the ones that would have worked otherwise.  These characters do better in the situation from the first film, but that concept just isn’t new and exciting anymore.  We’re instead left with what feels more like a buddy action flick than a straight up comedy.

As for the actors’ performances go, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms reprise their roles of Phil and Stu with much less flourish than before.  They seem to take a back seat to Galifiankis and Jeong this time around, which is a bummer as those actors work better playing supporting roles instead of constantly beating us over the head with their over-the-top attempts at humor.  John Goodman is convincing as a vicious gangster, but he’s not present long enough to really give a stellar performance.  Melissa McCarthy also makes a very brief appearance, which seems like a wasted attempt to get non-Hangover fans to the theater to see the finale.

One of the brighter moments of the film is the production of the opening sequence.  Had a newcomer to the Hangover series stumbled into the theater, they might have thought they were about to watch a full-on action movie instead of a raunchy comedy.  The rest of the movie does exactly what it needs to do in a comedy, but it’s nothing that’s mind-blowing or original.

It truly is time for the Hangover franchise to be put to bed.  As funny as the original film was, that horse has officially been beaten to death.  The characters are becoming harder to care about, and the situations that they find themselves in are less and less believable, even for a comedy.  There are still some very funny moments in the film, but they would serve better as an R-rated trailer instead of a full-length movie.  It gets some extra marks for an above average plot for a comedy, but this is one I wish I had waited for a rental.

If $10.00 is the full price of admission, I would give this a $4.50. 

The extra half a dollar comes from the after-credits scene which is probably the funniest part of the entire film.

 

Scott Clark
The Hollywood Outsider Podcast