Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug are back and crazy as ever in the third and final installment of The Hangover franchise.
In Part III, they return to the place, which brought them so much anguish before–Las Vegas. This time it’s not for a bachelor party, instead it’s sort-of a road trip gone awry. The pack is driving Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to a treatment facility in Arizona, after holding an intervention. Of course, when these men are together, trouble finds them.
In this installment, trouble comes in the form of a criminal named Marshall (John Goodman) and the return of Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). Marshall and his cronies assault the pack and kidnap Doug (Justin Bartha). Doug’s ransom is the recovery of gold, which Mr. Chow stole from him and Mr. Chow himself. Marshall had been tracking Mr. Chow and, through a series of prison letters, discovered his friendship with Alan. Also of note, Mr. Chow has recently escaped prison. The plot is a wee bit ridiculous, but that’s to be expected with a Hangover movie but, director/writer Todd Phillips does a nice job of explaining the intricate series of criminal events so that viewers aren’t confused.
The guys are just as we remember them: Phil—the leader, Stu—the worrywart, Alan—the socially awkward one and Doug—well, Doug is just Doug; he’s not present for much of the movie, just like the original.
Although there is a full cast of well-known actors, Galifianakis and Jeong seem to be the leading men. As usual, Galifianakis gets all the laugh out loud moments, whereas, Jeong’s jokes are more annoying than funny. It seems the character of Mr. Chow is best in spurts. To hear his nasally laugh for an hour and a half was a tad too much. Stick around after the credits role to see a short scene, showcasing the aftermath of another drunken night of escapades with the pack.
The first Hangover movie sparked and was an instant success; seeming to be the only movie anyone talked about for days. Although not as funny as the first movie, Part III still has some very funny moments but it won’t strike a chord with viewers as the original did.
