Film Review: The Hangover Part III

If there was any doubt that Todd Phillips wanted his Hangover franchise to end with as much bang as it began, then the first 10 minutes of The Hangover 3 will swiftly put that to rest

If there was any doubt that Todd Phillips wanted his Hangover franchise to end with as much bang as it began, then the first 10 minutes of The Hangover 3 will swiftly put that to rest. Two deaths including the beheading of a giraffe and the final installment of the longest night in history is well on its way. And after suffering a dreadful case of what can be (poorly) put as a 'cinematic hangover', the finale is thankfully near as much fun as the first.

Alan (Zach Galifianakis) is sent to rehab to clean up his crazy behavior, but along the way, the Wolfpack; Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Doug (Justin Bartha), cross paths with Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong), who is back to ruin their night one last time. The adventure unravels quicker than a cheap sweater as Chow takes the Pack on a harrowing evening of Tijuana trouble, stolen bars of gold, prescription medicine, bullets and John Goodman's best mobster impression. Along the way, there's more then your fair share of Alan being Alan, snappy one-liners, and Stu's often bewildering realization at just where he finds himself at the moment, proclaiming with immense frustration and sadness that, “I'm just a dentist”.

And Poor Doug. Few people can claim they've been kidnapped, harassed, and lost, more times than Doug. So why not one more time? This time held hostage by Goodman's burly underworld figure as ransom for Chow's past. Bartha is once again surplus material, like much of the surrounding cast (Jeffrey Tambor, Jamie Chung, Heather Graham), their parts serve only momentary breaks from the often cranked up comedy and behavior of the main cast. And good God there's a lot of Chow. If Jeong's hyper-stereotyped Asianness is a bother to you, then you'll probably dislike 95% of the film, but there's enough goodwill and heart in the end that you'll almost forget being subjected to micro-penis again.

Unlike the second outing, the third is less ill-willed, and returns the more jovial, gross out freshness the original brought. While the second movie found itself trapped in the mires of sequel-dom; recycling much of the original plot and chain of events, the third is able to cut loose the strains of the sophomore slump and let the natural and unnatural characters drive the movie. Symmetrically, the film finds its finale on the streets of Vegas, completing the story arch's cycle. The return to the locale reminds the audience just how well the backdrop set the scene.

The film strives to turkey slap you in the face for the majority of its duration, but the gentle underbelly is proof to you that there is a heart in there as well. Phillips' direction and general vision of the third is less grating than its predecessor and is a great way for the story to end. The Hangover 3 is genuinely fun and yes, really funny. You don't have to stay until the end of the credits, but stay for a few minutes after it starts rolling, and you'll be reminded why The Hangover is still outrageous. Like it should be.

THE HANGOVER PART III
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Written by: Todd Phillips, Craig Mazin
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, John Goodman
Released by: Warner Bros.
Website: hangoverpart3.com