Besides doing fun relationship stuff like arguing about how to
discipline their dog, New Times blogger Tyler Hughes and his girlfriend,
Jackie Cronin, go to the movies.
Tyler: The Wolfpack is back and this time they're trading a weekend in Vegas for one night in Bangkok. I thought it was actually pretty good for a direct sequel to a movie that was kind of a surprise hit two years ago.
Jackie: Yeah, well, as I was walking out of the theater I was a little bit disappointed in how closely they stuck to the formula of the first movie. But then I don't think you could really do a "Hangover" movie without that formula. It just wouldn't be the same.
Tyler: All of the major pieces where there: the first drink, the wake up, the missing person, checking for clues and unraveling the mystery. Except this time, instead of looking for Doug, they're trying to find Stu's fiance's little brother Teddy.
Jackie: Yeah, well, as I was walking out of the theater I was a little bit disappointed in how closely they stuck to the formula of the first movie. But then I don't think you could really do a "Hangover" movie without that formula. It just wouldn't be the same.
Tyler: All of the major pieces where there: the first drink, the wake up, the missing person, checking for clues and unraveling the mystery. Except this time, instead of looking for Doug, they're trying to find Stu's fiance's little brother Teddy.
Jackie: And instead of Vegas they wake up in some seedy room right in the heart of Bangkok. Ken Jeong is back as Mr. Chow and he gets a lot of laughs packed in to his limited screen time. I don't want to spoil it, but there is a throwback scene to the first Hangover that is hilarious. Also, there's a monkey.
Tyler: Zach Galifianakis gets most of the laughs too as man-child Alan. There is a scene that is reminiscent of the "Sky's The Limit" video directed by Spike Jonze. It might actually be my favorite scene in the movie. But he does that awkward inappropriatness perfectly, its hard to decide whether to cringe or laugh.
Jackie: Cringe, I mostly cringed. Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms are solid in their returns as Phil and Stu. Helms is given quite a bit more to do. His reaction to his drunken decision to get a Mike Tyson tattoo, even though it was in the trailers, was still hilarious.
Tyler: Stu always seems to get the shaft. Lost teeth, Tyson tattoo, married a stripper... he just seems to attract bad news -- bad news and strippers.
Jackie: On top of that he's a boring dentist, which reminds me, how did he get Jamie Chung? We were never shown how they met or anything. It's not actually that important until you get to the end of the movie, but a line or two about how they met would have been appreciated.
Tyler: I feel like this movie had a lot more action than the first one. That car chase scene was both awesome and hilarious. Seriously, add a monkey and a pig carcass to almost anything and it's sure to be funny.
Jackie: Ok, I might get some heat for this but I thought the ending was a little bit cheesy. Although it does have one fantastic musical number that totally redeems it. Also, like the first one, stick around for the picture montage.
Tyler: Yeah, the pictures really help to fill in the gaps in their night of drunken debauchery. Seriously drunken debauchery.
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