TOM TANGNEY

The wolfpack returns for a final installment in ‘Hangover Part III’ – and that’s OK

May 23, 2013, 5:58 AM | Updated: 8:24 am

The first “Hangover” movie was a surprise smash hit –
and with smash hits come sequels.

“Hangover Part III” promises to be the end of the line for this hugely popular franchise, and that’s just fine.

The original Hangover was a very funny movie. It took the premise of a bachelor party gone bad and amped up the energy level enough to make it just this side of outrageous. Mike Tyson and a tiger anyone?

The knock against the second Hangover was that it was too close a carbon copy of the original to be worth much.

Well, the “Hangover Part III” solves THAT problem by not being funny. This is a Hangover suffering from its own hangover.

This time out no one’s getting married. Instead the wolfpack – Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis – has to kidnap the goofball Asian gangster Leslie Chow in order to save the life of their buddy Doug.

It’s surprising that the movie spends so much of its time on this gangster storyline – it’s not that funny, especially since some characters get gunned down. The plot also ends up spotlighting the manic Chow character (Ken Jeong), who I’ve always considered the weak link in the franchise.

A little Chow goes a long way and there’s a lot of Chow.

There are a few scattered chuckles here and there – usually involving Galifianakis, who takes “stupid” to such extremes that he manages to squeeze a laugh out where no laugh deserved to be had. But too much of the time things fall flat.

“We can’t be friends anymore,” explains Galifianakis. “When we get together bad things happen and friends get hurt.”

“Yeah, that’s the point,” replies Chow. “It’s funny!”

Except when it’s not.

Tom Tangney

Belfast...

Tom Tangney

Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Belfast’ is a crowd-pleaser that doesn’t quite hit the mark

"Belfast" has plenty to recommend itself but it's not nearly the moving testament to fraught times that Kenneth Branagh thinks it is or wants it to be.

2 years ago

Eternals, Marvel...

Tom Tangney

‘Eternals’ has to do a lot of heavy lifting for a single film

Imagine the daunting task Marvel sets for itself in "Eternals." It has to introduce 10 new superheroes, not to mention an entirely new cosmology.

2 years ago

French Dispatch...

Tom Tangney

‘The French Dispatch’ is unmistakably Andersonian

Wes Anderson is an acquired taste. But luckily, after 10 full-length movies, most critics and many movie-goers have acquired it.

2 years ago

Dune...

Tom Tangney

All set-up and no payoff: ‘Dune’ is world’s longest and most expensive trailer

It's hard to find the right metaphor for the new "Dune" movie. Whatever comparison you choose, it must reflect a sense of incompletion.

2 years ago

Last Duel...

Tom Tangney

Poor Marguerite’s story saves ‘The Last Duel’

Tom Tangney says, ultimately, The Last Duel is a proto-feminist take on the Middle Ages with Marguerite's take that brings the film into focus.

2 years ago

James Bond...

Tom Tangney

Daniel Craig’s final James Bond movie comes full-circle

The 25th installment in the James Bond movie franchise may be titled "No Time to Die," but "Too Much Time to Die" may be more fitting.

2 years ago

The wolfpack returns for a final installment in ‘Hangover Part III’ – and that’s OK