The Hangover Part II

The best thing about The Hangover Part II is that it provides us with an appreciation for just how extraordinarily clever and well structured the original was. Think about the premise of the 2009 film (group of guys go to Vegas, drink, wake up the next morning and can't remember anything that happened) and how simple and unimaginative it would sound to you if someone was explaining it without any of the trailers for visual support. Even the title doesn't suggest anything special. Your expectations would have likely landed on the same level of achievement where Part II sits. It is an example of the trap of mediocrity that Part I could have easily fallen into but instead miraculously excelled beyond our wildest imaginations.

The obvious issue is that we're watching the same story unfold with main points of interest running parallel to the first movie. There's the set up where our characters can't remember anything from the night before and they are missing 16-year-old Teddy, who they were suppose to be spending time with simply roasting marshmallows. Immediately they think of the roof, but it doesn't turn out to be that easy (surprise!). They embark on their journey and from there you don't even have to predict what happens because a prediction requires some degree of uncertainty. You can just take the original, which you've watched 10 times already, subtract the tiger, the baby and the cop car, then add a monkey and one interesting car chase sequence and you've got your movie.

I'm not even ashamed to give away certain plot points, like Stu finding himself unwillingly being unfaithful to his fiance with a stripper or Alan revealing that he was the one to accidently drug everyone, because the exact same events already happened the previous time! Speaking of the character Alan, don't expect him to be the comedic hinge this time around. In Part I, his naivety could be relied on for some of the best laughs you can get from a movie because we knew that he didn't know any better (as Stu aptly put: "Don't the beard fool you, he is a child!"), but on this go around he comes off as a jerk most of the time and it taints any of the humor. Chow is another phenomenally entertaining character who is simply stretched thin. Ken Jeong may be brilliant as the character but the script doesn't match up to his delivery.

What's more is the filmmakers even used Bryan Callen, who played Eddie in the first film ("They shot Eddie!"), as an entirely different, and much less memorable, character named Samir. Doesn't that violate some sort of physical law? Just because the setting is in Bangkok doesn't mean it's another universe where people can appear as someone different.

Anything fresh about The Hangover Part II is far and few between. It violates our suspension of disbelief by asking us to believe these characters went through this event twice. It fails to not only do much of anything new, but it fails miserably at the exact same tricks that worked so well before. For instance, in the latter half of the movie, Stu proceeds to serenade us again with a summary of their plight but his lyrics have followed suit with the rest of the writing. The tagline recited by several characters states that "Bangkok has them now..." and for all I'm concerned it can keep them.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

I am willing to put up with this once. If this series is going to continue, the inevitable truth is that Cpt. Jack needs to be phased out. He is a character that will hold a place in cinematic history (thanks to Johnny Depp's brilliant interpretation) not just as the most famous pirate on film, but as one of the best comedic characters of all time. However, there is still a limit to my tolerance of his antics. He can only get away with managing to single-handedly tie up a group of British soldiers so many times. Without a fresher set of characters to carry us through, this series will become exhausting. Some will say that it already has, but I was willing to endure this 4th installment with its enjoyable use of mythology and a few new set pieces.

Rob Marshall takes the reins from Gore Verbinski and brings a slightly fresher take. Had he done "Curse of the Black Pearl" I'm not certain that his style would have made that film as appealing as what it was, but now that the franchise has been firmly established this became more of an exercise in plug-and-play than artistic creation. Marshall's work ranges from the 2002 Best Picture recipient, "Chicago," to the flop that was "Nine" in 2009. Fortunately for Marshall he doesn't have to worry about a flop here, at least financially.

I did miss the usually gorgeous cinematography of Dion Beebe, who has worked with Marshall on his past films. Darius Wolski's work is appreciated as it has been in all the previous 'Pirates'...but I feel that Marshall's potential as a director is restrained a bit without Beebe (who worked on "Green Lantern" last year instead).

Marshall did, however, bring along Penelope Cruz, one of his actresses from "Nine" (and one of that film's Oscar nominations), who really adds some energy to the show (and Jack's libido) as Angelica. Much like her Oscar-winning role in "Vicky Christina Barcelona," she is a very intimidating figure but yet manages to swing it in a humorous manner. Needless to say, I'd put my money on Angelica to take out Elizabeth Swann in a brawl.

I appreciated the use of mermaids as very deadly creatures, for it aligns more accurately with myth, whereas most film portrayals go down a docile path. Instead of collecting human gadgets as Ariel did (I secretly wish there had been some sort of partial reference to Ariel in the course of the movie), these creatures collect the humans themselves by shooting seaweed reminiscent of Spider-Man's web and then dragging their victims underwater.  One of our side stories features a bond between a mermaid captured by Blackbeard's crew and Philip, a missionary also being held captive by Blackbeard. Philip brings with him lots of talk about Christianity, which is something interestingly new in the previously religious-free 'Pirates' universe, but on the whole his character serves the story well.

At times, "On Stranger Tides" seems to be lackluster, as if it exists just because it can (and to make insane profits). Even Geoffrey Rush's Barbosa has far less presence as a character, whereas previously he was a highlight. There's a good amount of work to be done if Disney is going to manage to create a new trilogy here. 'Pearl' gave us a lot to build from for future films, but 'Tides' doesn't exactly provide a foundation for the future nor does it leave us thirsty for much more. Expect a 5th movie, but unless major restructuring begins to occur, pray to avoid a 6th.