Film: The Hangover Part III

Director: Todd Phillips
Genre: Comedy
Source: USA (2013)
Rating: R
Location/Format: Glynn Place Stadium Cinema
Grade: D

This is a movie that seriously overestimates my fondness for Alan and Chow.

The first Hangover movie was funny--often very much so. The second Hangover movie was a carbon copy of the first in all but setting, trying to hide the exact same storyline and beats by adding a monkey. It didn't work, and it was bad. Probably the worst of the three, mostly because it was ripping itself off so blatantly.

This third (and hopefully final) installment of the franchise tries to go too hard in the opposite direction. Despite the title (and note the poster plays up the Part III, not the actual title of the movie), there is no hangover here, or bad behavior of any type. Rather, the three find themselves trying to hold off a crimelord who has kidnapped Doug. For me a lot of the fun of the first film came from watching them realize how out of control they got when faced with the consequences of their own bad choices. They weren't really likable guys, but at least Ed Helms' Stu was enough of an everyman character that we could be both entertained and horrified by the shenanigans they got themselves into. Here Stu and an apparently suddenly ego-less Phil (Bradley Cooper's unapologetically douchey personality was a key element of the previous films' dynamic) are sidelined so that the off-putting, unrelatable, and generally cartoonish Alan and Chow can take more prominent roles. 

It doesn't work. They move from being an absurd element to an otherwise entertaining story to becoming the whole story, and I got bored. The addition of typically reliable champs Melissa McCarthy and John Goodman still isn't enough to keep this sinking franchise afloat.

At the end of the film (and I suppose this is spoiler territory) we're given a tease that shenanigans will continue to ensue, but frankly I don't care if we see them or not. The magic of the first film has now been unrepeatable two films in a row, and I'd rather see all of these comedians move on to something new. 

Hey, at least it was free. This MoviePass thing might have been a good investment after all.

Alternate Film Title: "Zach Galifanakis--Better in Small Doses"