Film Review: The Hangover Part III

31 May 2013 - 02:39 By Tymon Smith
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Zach Galifianakis as Alan is on a quest to stop being a 42-year-old child, again
Zach Galifianakis as Alan is on a quest to stop being a 42-year-old child, again

The most promising thing about this instalment in Todd Phillips's "bros-out-on-the-town" franchise is that it might be the final chapter.

The Hangover Part III

Director: Todd Phillips

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, John Goodman, Heather Graham

The first sequel was cut and paste that transported all the jokes from the first movie to Thailand . Those diehard fans expecting Mike Tyson karaoke, tigers and tattoos will be severely disappointed by the lack of anything funny in this film.

While the Wolf Pack find themselves back in Vegas, there's such a disjuncture in tone and genre in this finale that any hopes for a cohesive box set to show the kids every Christmas are severely dashed.

When Alan's father dies, Alan's family - worried by his recent decapitation of a giraffe, his disregard for his happy pills and his general negative behaviour - convince the Wolf Pack to drive him off to a rehab centre for treatment.

On the way, they're attacked by an angry gang led by John Goodman looking for their old pal Mr Chow (Jeong), who has escaped from a Thai jail and owes the gang a lot of gold bars he stole some years ago. Cue disappearance of Doug (Bartha) for most of the film as he's taken hostage. Alan (Galifianakis), Phil (Cooper) and Stu (Helms) must find Mr Chow, get back the gold and save their pal.

It should bode well for this film that it features no hangover and no backwards search for what happened the night before, but there are bewilderingly few jokes.

What Phillips and his screenwriters produce is a listless attempt at an action film, which shows such disregard for itself and its audience that it's hard to understand why anyone bothered.

There's an attempt to focus the story on Galifianakis's Alan and his quest to stop being a 42-year-old child but this is thinner than a slice of Parma ham and Galifianakis walks through his part with no wit, no charm and no intention of making an effort.

The same goes for everyone else in the mess that is the finale to a franchise that should never have existed and even the flashbacks to scenes from the first two films are perfunctory. If ever there was an example of the dangers of producing films under pressure from studio demands for profits, it turns out that it's not Fast and Furious 6 but rather Hangover III.

WHAT THE OTHERS SAY

"IF ONLY what happened in Vegas had stayed in Vegas." - CNN.com

"'Hangover III' is likable enough, even as it collapses in a heap." - Wall Street Journal

"The first movie left you with an exhilarating rush. All that Part III leaves is, well, a hangover." - Rolling Stone

"I'm not sure who let the dogs out this time, but they should be made to pay." - Los Angeles Times

ALSO OPENING

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D

John Luessenhop's sequel to 1974's 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' has little to offer beyond gore. - Los Angeles Times

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