Film Review: The Hangover Part III

The Hangover Part III. Rated MA 15+ (strong coarse language, nudity and crude humour). 100 minutes. Directed by Todd Phillips. Screenplay by Todd Phillips and Craig Mazin.

Verdict: The Hangover series limps over the finish line.

It often pays not to have high expectations for the cinematic delights a film promises to deliver. ‘The buzz’, such as it was, for this third and final instalment of Phillips’ Hangover trilogy, was keen anticipation for how the creators would farewell the characters we had come to know, love and instantly recognise within ourselves and people we know. Sadly, this vacant, somnambulic offering is not so much a finale, than it is a slowly deflating balloon that only ends up making you question how they got it so right the first (and arguably the second) time around.

When Alan (Zach Galifianakis) agrees to go into rehab, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Doug (Justin Bartha) agree to drive him there. Travelling across country, they are run off the road by a gang of pig-mask-wearing thugs who are working for a gangster called Marshall (John Goodman). Marshall, who has had his gold bullion stolen by the irascible Mr Chow (Ken Jeong), takes Doug hostage until the guys can find Chow and the gold and bring them to him.

This flimsy premise simply doesn’t stand up to too much interrogation, and much of the time is spent waiting for Phillips and Co to go for broke. Jeong, who has always been the touchstone for the series’ appallingly bad taste, is catapulted into leading man territory here, and it just doesn’t work. Neither does the dramatic tenor of Phillips and Mazin’s pedestrian screenplay, which even with the presence of the brilliant but wasted Goodman, appears to have absolutely nothing further to add to the exploits of the first two films.

It is easy to imagine why the film-makers thought it might be an interesting idea to depart from the hugely-successful formula of the first two films. What they have replaced it with, however, is a kind of inert, soap-operatic dramedy that, with the exception of a fine funeral sequence early on, falls flat and never recovers. The final conceit is a post-credits scene that is the film we wish they’d made – and why they didn’t will forever have to remain an unforgivable mystery.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Zookeeper

Zookeeper. Rated PG (mild crude humour). 102 minutes. Directed by Frank Coraci. Screenplay by Nick Bakay, Rock Reuben, Kevin James, Jay Scherick and David Ronn.

With its big heart in the right place and an endearing supporting cast of talking animals, it’s surprising that Zookeeper is not a good deal more fun than it is. Even with the input of five writers, the script struggles to become anything other than a very ordinary romantic comedy – which is a shame because it certainly has its moments. The real problem is that combined, they just don’t add up to very much.

Kevin James (Everybody Loves Raymond) is awkward and charming as unlucky-in-love zookeeper Griffin, and the opening sequence where he is unceremoniously dumped by his gorgeous girlfriend Stephanie (Leslie Bibb having a great time), sets us up perfectly for what is only ever an occasionally engaging story about how he tries to win her back.

Coraci (The Wedding Singer) wields a heavy hand over the indecisive script – steadfastly refusing to let the story gain any momentum. No-one is helped by Scott Hill’s (Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty) pace-less editing of sequences (like the ones at Griffin’s brother’s wedding) that just become terminally dull.

Interestingly, there is a stark contrast between most of the goings-on and a mildly involving subplot between Griffin and Bernie the Gorilla (voiced by Nick Nolte). Donnie Wahlberg (Mark’s brother) is under-utilised in his brief turn as the nasty zookeeper who abuses the gentle Bernie – but as soon as the film appears to be charting its way on a new and more interesting course, we find ourselves back in strained and less-rewarding rom-com land.

The always-reliable Rosario Dawson (Unstoppable) is excellent as Griffin’s colleague Kate, and it’s always good to see Ken Jeong (The Hangover movies) relishing one of his bent cameos (this time as Venom the reptile handler).

In spite of the overall confusion in tone and handling, the message that finally emerges is a good one: which is that maybe you have a good deal less in common with the person you’re trying so hard to impress than you imagined.

Pictured: Griffin (Kevin James) and Bernie the Gorilla in Zookeeper.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: The Hangover Part II

The Hangover Part II. Rated MA15+ (strong sexual references, nudity, coarse language and drug use). 95 minutes. Directed by Todd Phillips. Screenplay by Craig Mazin, Scot Armstrong and Todd Phillips.

As Stu (Ed Helms) finally prepares to marry the beautiful Lauren (Jamie Chung) in Thailand, he wisely avoids having another buck’s party and, instead, settles for a quiet beer (just one) around the fire on the nearby beach with his friends Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galifianakis), Doug (Justin Bartha) and Lauren’s younger ‘boy-genius’ brother Teddy (Mason Lee) who have all made the trip to the resort in Thailand for the big event. But their calm and nostalgic seaside reminiscence of their big hangover weekend in Vegas are quickly shattered when they find themselves waking up in a sleazy hotel room in Bangkok – with no sign of the precious young Teddy.

Sequels of any kind are often peculiar beasts – and, at first glance, this follow-up to the box office smash The Hangover (2009) certainly has its share of peculiarities. Phillips and his team have made no effort whatsoever to change the blueprint – with Bangkok replacing Las Vegas and Teddy replacing the hapless Doug. Bewildered girlfriends still wait anxiously by the telephone for updates and the good old ‘race-against-time’ formula kicks in right on cue.

What works undeniably, however, is the simple fact that it’s just nothing less than great fun spending yet another ridiculously high-stakes 24 hours in the company of our impossibly irresponsible friends. Didn’t they learn anything in Vegas?!

Helms, Cooper and Galifianakis throw themselves into the tasks at hand with sheer abandon, but it is the re-introduction of Ken Jeong as the outrageous Mr Chow that absolutely sets the tone for all this movie will be. The Hangover’s unexpected bromance-inspired heart and soul of friends bonding for life in extraordinary circumstances is banished – replaced by a crueller, in-your-face through-line of humiliation that often just seems as though Phillips is more determined to ‘push the envelope’ than understand why we cared as much as we did about his characters the first time around.

But ultimately, we do – thanks in no small way to the big star of this film, Bangkok. Revealing itself to be a city of spectacular contradictions, it instantly rises to the occasion to become more than a match for our fearless, fun-loving friends – who, in some strange way, we hope will never grow up. Which is more than likely the point.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.