Well, according to the campaign, we have come to the end. The end of one of the funniest set of movies I have ever seen. The Hangover is one of those unapologetically crude and adult type of film, and it is comedic gold. While definitely NOT for all tastes, I loved the first two. In fact, they were so good, it kind of ruins the third. I went in with some high expectations, and was a little disappointed, although I probably should not have been surprised. The first two movies were, quite frankly, a very high bar to surpass. The first is literally one of the funniest films I have ever seen. It easily ranks with films like Ghostbusters, Stripes, Airplane!, This Is Spinal Tap, Good Morning Vietnam and Monty Python & The Quest For The Holy Grail. The second, while nowhere near as good, still manages to pull out some truly inspired gags. The third, while funny in parts, suffers in comparison. Taken on its own merits, it is okay. It would not be the billion dollar grosser the first two were.
One of the elements that actually hurts the film is the events are not the result of a night of drunken debauchery our heroes must piece together. I suppose that makes the title a little misleading. The fact we are piecing together stories that get crazier and more psychotic as we go give the previous films an almost exciting, anarchic edge, a feeling of foreboding around every turn. "What can possibly happen next," becomes the mantra through them. This one is like, meh, it's okay. Maybe it's good on its own, but the fact that it is part of such superior predecessors really injures the experience. There is one inspired bit of casting, bringing Melissa McCarthy into the movie. She was the actress who stole every scene in Bridesmaidsshe appeared in, a movie many people consider the female Hangover. Her role is a nice bridge between the two franchises, and while she only appears briefly in the film, she is great. I kept waiting for at least one great, side-splitting gag, but the film was just another trip to the trough. A sad attempt to make lightning strike a third time with bales of money. While this is no fault of the actors', they do the best with what they have. But the producers should have stuck with two.
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