My Review: The Hangover Part III (7/10)

"I told myself, I would never come back."

I had read so many bad reviews about this third installment of The Hangover that I kept putting off this movie until I finally decided to watch it last night and was glad I did. The second film was a lazy copy of the first (which I had loved), but I was let down by that sequel and wasn't expecting much from this. I guess that my lowered expectations helped me enjoy this film a lot more because I had a great time at the movies and laughed during several scenes what I hadn't laughed in any other comedy I'd seen this year (Identity Thief, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, He's Way More Famous Than You, The Guilt Trip, and This is 40). The Hangover Part III is a lot funnier than any of those movies were, and it is better than the first sequel; just don't expect it to be like the original. I'm glad Todd Phillips decided to take an entirely different direction here and incorporate some action. I didn't find this movie dark like a lot of people are saying it was and I didn't think it was serious either. I laughed several times and enjoyed the new characters. I think the film could have used a little less of Ken Jeong and not have made Zach Gallifianakis's character as mean as he was here, but overall I still think this film worked. Todd Phillips has had several hit and misses in his career as a director, and I would say The Hangover Part III kind of stands in the middle. It helped me that I went with such low expectations for this film and left the theater entertained.

The wolfpack is back together again for a third time, although this time no one is getting married and there is no bachelor party. Doug (Justin Bartha) convinces Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) to help him take Alan (Zach Galifinakis) to a mental institution after he has decided to stop taking his medication. Alan has been having a bit of anger issues, and so the wolfpack decide to get together again to drive Alan to an institution, but on their way they are assaulted by Black Doug (Mike Epps) and his boss Marshall (John Goodman). They kidnapp Doug and are forced to find Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). If they don't find him in less than 72 hours then Doug will be dead. Apparently Mr. Chow has stolen from Marshall a large amount of gold, and he wants it back. This is where the madness begins, and the three friends are forced to locate Mr. Chow and bring him back in exchange for Doug.

I really enjoyed John Goodman's performance here although he didn't get much screen time. He was really good in his role as Marshall and set the tone of the film. There is a lot more action and thrills in this third installment. Another new secondary character in this film is Cassie (Melissa McCarthy), although she's barely five minutes in this movie. I thought she was funny, but I don't agree that her scenes were the highlight of the film. I'm not in love with her as most critics are, and have only enjoyed her role in Bridesmaids. Maybe Identity Thief is still to fresh on my mind and it doesn't allow me to enjoy her more. The Hangover Part III is a worthy sequel and I think a great place to end the trilogy. None of these films will be as fresh as the original however.

My Review: Zookeeper (2/10)

¨I know it shouldn’t bother me that you`re a zookeeper, but it kind of does.¨

Kevin James is at it again, although this time instead of receiving love advice from Hitch, he`s listening to the animals from the zoo. From the trailers I kind of expected this movie to be a cross between Dr. Doolittle and Night at the Museum, and it definitely was what I expected (and even worse). Zookeeper might have been written by five different screenwriters, but the story and dialogues are far from original. I couldn’t help but sense that I`d seen this movie a million times before. It`s like they blended a bunch of James`s comedies together and came up with this mixture called Zookeeper. There are hardly any funny moments in the movie, the talking animals thing isn’t new and it just didn’t work, the characters were all one dimensional, there was no chemistry whatsoever between any of the actors or animals, and the film relied heavily on Kevin James`s well known by now physical comedy and familiar gags. Frank Coraci has done some greater work in the past with films like Wedding Singer or Click, but he just misses the mark this time around. This was truly a messy comedy that never managed to catch my attention, or even get a smile out of me. I had no fun at all with Zookeeper.

Griffin Keyes (Kevin James) is a zookeeper who is about to propose to his beautiful girlfriend, Stephanie (Leslie Bibb), in the beach. He has everything planned: horseback riding in the sand as the sun sets, a message in a bottle, a ring, mariachis, and even fireworks. The only problem is that Stephanie says no because she just isn’t ready to have a long term relationship with a zookeeper. Five years later, Griffin is still a zookeeper who seems to be enjoying what he`s doing. He excels in his work and the animals are lucky to have him around. Some of his co-workers include Venom (Ken Jeong), Shane (Donnie Wahlberg), and the lovely and caring vet Kate (Rosario Dawson). Griffin is preparing his brother, Dave (Nat Faxon), an engagement party at the zoo and he runs into Stephanie once again. She seems interested in him, but he`s still working at the zoo and he has competition from another one of her exes: Gale (Joe Rogan). The only solution seems to be quitting the zoo and working with his brother for a luxury car dealership. The animals in the zoo decide to help Griffin out by breaking their code of silence and giving him advice on mating. These animals include Bernie the Gorilla (voiced by Nick Nolte), Donald the Monkey (Adam Sandler), Joe the Lion (Sylvester Stallone), Janet the Lioness (Cher), Barry the Elephant (Judd Apatow), Jerome the Bear (Jon Favreau), and Mollie the Giraffe (Maya Rudolph).

Anyone who has seen a romantic comedy before will know where this plot is heading five minutes into the movie. I don’t actually have a problem with this as long as I have a fun time getting to the predicted finale, but the trip just isn’t worth it since there are very few funny moments. The talking CGI animal effects aren’t very well done, but that wouldn’t be a problem either if they had been given some funny material to work with. It`s too bad because the cast was really incredible and they could have done much better work on their own. The only true funny moment in this movie is the five minute scene between James and the gorilla as they hang out together in TGIF. It is truly a very funny scene and perhaps the only moment in which James has a connection with one of the characters in the movie. Too bad that was only part of the side story and the entire film focused on something entirely different. Kevin James is a very funny man, but we can see his physical comedy anytime on television. The material he had to work with here was just pathetic, but he is partly to blame because he helped write it. I don’t see another sequel coming out of this like in Dr. Doolittle or Night at the Museum because it really goes nowhere. This is the second Kevin James movie that I`ve seen this month that has completely disappointed me (The Dilemma). Small kids might enjoy the talking animals, but adults will most likely find this movie disappointing.

 

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My Review: The Hangover Part II (7/10)

¨Well we`re living here in Allentown, and he`s driven our lives into the ground. When we woke up we were wasted and drunk; Phil got shot, we got beaten by a monk. I was happy and my life was good; getting married like a dentist should.¨

The trailers got it right when they said the Wolfpack was back; Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug got together again in this follow up to the highly successful 2008 comedy The Hangover. They even got Mr. Chow to return for the sequel, but what they failed to mention was that one of the main characters from the previous film was missing: Las Vegas. The second part takes place in sunny Bangkok, a long ways away from home. Instead of waking up at a five star suite hotel room, the guys wake up in a roach infested cheap motel room. The movie follows an almost identical premise and the jokes are pretty much the same, but Bangkok just isn’t Vegas and that was actually missing in this film. Other than that I had no other problems with this movie: it was fun, entertaining, and all the main characters were back at it again. Same players, same scenarios, different location. With these talented actors it is pretty hard to mess up a movie like this so if you enjoyed the previous movie than odds are you will like this one. The Hangover was one of my favorite comedies of the decade, the second one doesn’t quite live up to that category, but it still is entertaining. Of course the originality and freshness from the original was missing, but I didn’t have any problems in seeing these guys reunite once again. Todd Phillips was also back as the director after the disappointing and unsuccessful Due Date (which also starred Zach Galifianakis), but he got right back on track where he had left out in The Hangover. He also collaborated with the screenplay along with Craig Mazin and Scot Armstrong (who replaced Jon Lucas and Scott Moore from the original).

Its been two years since Doug (Justin Bartha) got married and now it`s Stu`s (Ed Helms) turn. He has fallen in love with Lauren (Jamie Chung) and is planning on getting married in Thailand where her family currently lives. Phil (Bradley Cooper) is upset that Stu is getting married abroad because he has to buy tickets for him and his wife, but he gets even more upset when he discovers that Stu isn’t going to have a bachelor party. Stu invited them to IHOP the morning before they had to travel and tells them that there will be no party, so they must enjoy their breakfast and consider that his bachelor party. He wants to avoid everything that happened to them in Vegas. Alan (Zach Galifianakis) finds out Stu is getting married and is depressed because he hasn’t been invited to the wedding. Doug convinces Stu to invite Alan since that trip to Vegas has been the highlight of his life and seems to have mentally never left the place. Stu reluctantly decides to invite him so the Wolfpack get together again and travel to a beautiful resort in Thailand. Lauren`s younger brother, Teddy (Mason Lee), is studying in Stanford and also travels with the crew, although Alan doesn’t like this one bit because he isn’t part of the Wolfpack. A couple of nights before the wedding the guys decide to roast marshmallows by a campfire on the beach. They all have one beer and the next thing we know they wake up in a cheap motel room in Bangkok without remembering what happened the night before. Phil wakes up first and finds a finger in a bucket full of water that seems to belong to Teddy, Alan wakes up with his head shaved, Stu wakes up with a tattoo on his face, and Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) wakes up alongside them. The movie then follows the same premise the first one did as they try to find clues to piece together what happened to them and where Teddy is.

The movie is missing some of the freshness the original film had, but I still had a fun time. More of the same is not necessarily bad, but it just isn’t as funny either. We kind of expect some of the things that are going to happen. Some of the highlights of the film include new secondary characters like Kingsley, who is played by Paul Giamatti and he is really funny in this film. There is also Samir (Bryan Callen), an Arab dealer searching for Mr. Chow, who has a few funny seconds on screen, but I wish his character would have been given more time. There are also some more funny cameos along the way and surprising moments, although pretty much all the suspense and mystery that the first film had is missing in this one. The Hangover II is still a very raunchy comedy like the first, but the effect the first film had on me was just missing this time. I still can’t complain because I laughed throughout the film. It was fun seeing these characters back in action again and was very pleased with the film. If you liked the first film, you will probably like this one, if you didn’t like the first one then there is no need for you to see the second one because the premise is the same. Just don’t expect another masterpiece.

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