The Hangover Part III: Not With A Bang...

The Hangover was the most successful R-rated comedy of all time when it was released in 2009. A raucous extravaganza of hilarity, drunken mayhem, and surprisingly intriguing sleuthing, it was a fantastic movie that became a pop cultural touchstone. But in sequel-happy Hollywood, one successful movie is never enough, so we now have a trilogy.

Part II was almost identical to the first movie. The guys got drugged and hungover at a bachelor party, lost a member of their group and had to find him in time for the wedding, while dealing with the drug-related complications brought about by their association with Mr. Chow, the Chinese gangster. The only difference was that Part II was set in Bangkok instead of Las Vegas and was a LOT raunchier, which didn't even seem possible.

Now in Part III, the film makers have dealt with the Part II backlash in two ways. The template is no longer the same - no one gets blackout drunk (which is a bit misleading in a movie titled The Hangover), and the hapless Doug is kidnapped instead of just misplaced. The "Wolfpack" has to find Mr. Chow in order to rescue Doug from a drug lord, played by John Goodman. They go to Mexico but eventually wind up in Las Vegas where everything began and we get to meet some familiar characters and locales. And everything is a lot more toned down. Nothing really extreme happens in this movie (unless you count the surprise scene in the end credits, or the decapitated giraffe at the beginning). The actors are just as frenetic and committed as ever, but there is less material to work with. 

Ideally The Hangover should have been a stand-alone movie, because the sequels haven't matched up to the first. But I thoroughly enjoyed the multiple chances to revisit these characters and discover where they all ended up. That was an indulgence I never hoped to have after the first film, and despite the decided drop in quality, I'm too fond of the franchise to care. The Hangover Part III will appeal to fans of the franchise because of its numerous inside jokes and references to the events that these friends have endured over the course of the movies. Despite not strictly adhering to the Hangover template, the film still has warped elements of the original movie that feel both familiar and novel at the same time. The ending serves as an apt way to wrap up the entire franchise, and I'm glad that this is the end, because it is clear that they've lost steam. This is how The Hangover ends, not with a bang but a whimper.