The Hangover Part III
Wolf pack assemble! This time Phil, Stu, and Doug (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha) rally to help move Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to a special care facility. Naturally, along the way the gang get held up, this time by a Mobster named Marshall (John Goodman). Apparently Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) has stolen millions of dollars in gold that belongs to Marshall. Marshall knows his best shot at getting to Chow is through Chow’s only “friends” Alan, Phil, Stu, and Doug. So, extortion it is; now it’s up to the boys to track and bring in Chow and return Marshall his gold. Easier said than done, but it’s one last excuse to take on the mean streets of Tijuana and Vegas all in the name of friendship.
Trying to bilk audiences one more time on this franchise Director/producer/writer Todd Phillips goes to the well for more water, but sadly comes up with a bucket of dust instead. Although, where The Hangover and Hangover II were basically the same movie we do actually get some variation on the theme this go round, hardly an improvement. While there are a few chuckles here and there, the comedic gold audiences are hungry for is absent, at least until the credits, at which point where a semi comedic epilogue does lighten things a teensy bit, even then it’s a stretch. On the positive, fans will enjoy some of the flashbacks we’re given, and the completion of a few character’s arcs from previous installments feels mildly on par. Hardly worth your hard earned dollar, unless you’re the type of person who feels the need to see a series through to its completion (in which case good for you, fans with conviction are always appreciated); I however, want my 100 minutes back. The Hangover Part III is rated R.