Spectacular Failures: The Hangover Part III

This is not a franchise I've spent a great deal of time thinking about. In fact it's a shock I'm writing about it at all. The Hangover had a funny premise for the less than subtle frat crowd, but I never bought in to the humor. Bradley Cooper was a leading man with no substance (Ha!) while the supporting cast got all the major laughs. The Hangover Part II, I felt, was an abysmal follow up for any franchise. It copies the original film's formula and jokes to a tee. These days sequels are built to make references to their predecessors, but The Hangover Part II was little more than a remake.

I didn't create this blog to simply throw movies I disliked under the bus, but more as a reflection of what I see in the films I watch. More often than not I see a lot in a spectacular failures than a simple bomb. Ironically, The Hangover Part III is lucky enough to be the former.

Spoilers after the jump.

Not "Remake Part III"

I'm not a fan of the series, but I must admit I was happy to see the plot had no resemblance to the last couple of movies. As a matter of fact, the entire story includes no drinking at all. No hangover. No trying to figure out what happened the night before.

Alan's character is (finally) accused of having a serious problem after he accidentally decapitates a domesticated giraffe. (You read correctly.) Phil, Doug and Stu stage an intervention to get him to attend a rehabilitation facility. It's actually a shame the movie didn't ride out this plot line, but it's hard to say what follows isn't an interesting turn of events.

During the road trip to the facility, the "Wolfpack" get stopped by a criminal named Marshall. Marshall explains Leslie Chow stole $21 million in gold from him and that his best chance of finding him is the Wolfpack. He then threatens to kill Doug if the rest of them don't find Chow and the stolen gold.

From there it's another wild goose chase to find Chow who has an elevated role with heightened violence and destructive pranks. In this case, the "hangover" is the lingering association Chow has with the leading characters. It's a story with potential laughs, but, unfortunately, there's nothing that keeps you reeling in hysterics. In fact there are long stretches in the film that go without a single attempt at a joke. While reinventing the wheel with this third outing, director Todd Philips seems to have forgotten to inject humor into the story. Instead, it's the more serious aspect of the narrative that sticks out.

"Madness, as you know, is like gravity..."

Alan's character has been the anomaly in these movies. He's an adolescent that strives for fun and has no ethical code because he's too innocent to be aware of such. In The Hangover Part III, however, his call for shenanigans is considered a serious problem. Part of the movie's lack of humor is because Alan is no longer caricature. He's now an individual with real issues. All of his antics and squealing can't be chalked up to a cartoony character, but rather a mental condition. So every move he makes is all the more alarming. (Or simply annoying.)

But then Leslie Chow comes in. The character has a much bigger role in this movie and seems to juxtapose Alan's spiral toward insanity with true, out-of-control madness. In a sense Chow is the man Alan could become.

Of course this isn't explored too deeply. The movie relies on consistent gags for laughs, struggling to find humor in what is otherwise a rather dark story. Chow's destructiveness is quite alarming. At first it felt like run of the mill antics from a Merrie Melodies caricature. I actually found Chow shooting his cock fighting chickens funny at first. Then he continued to be destructive-- ignoring the pleas from the Wolfpack to save Doug, mindlessly snapping the necks of dogs off screen and causing the deaths of three people.

Marshall's character called Chow a virus. Phil told Stu Chow was a cancer. This is interesting because madness, without help, doesn't go away. It spreads and expands turning anarchist actions into a euphoric sensation. This is precisely how Chow operates in the movie and his motivation to be free and wild is a case of reality being stranger than fiction. Did I laugh when he sang I Believe I Can Fly from his parachute? Yes. Was I shocked when he killed Marshall and his henchmen, then threatened Phil? Also yes. The problem is I would laugh and scream at both of those, respectively, had I seen it in passing. I don't expect this exact storyline to play out in Vegas anytime soon, but how often do we hear stories about people with serious conditions and simply laugh? Likewise, people with similar conditions perform acts of violence that terrify us. It's the only part of the movie I feel is deeply rooted into the story and yet I think it was unintentional. If it weren't it would be funny.

Comedy Falling Flat

Long before The Hangover, Todd Philips directed a documentary titled, Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies. GG Allin was a rock star known for excessive substance abuse and violent grotesqueries. He died of a heroine overdose mere days after the film's initial screening. No doubt Allin was a partial inspiration for Chow as both are self destructive and talented at inflicting said destruction on others.

Although Todd Philips most likely wanted a fine blend of humor within madness, the movie makes it hard to laugh when there's so much emphasis on giving a title to these character's problems. Alan and Chow used to be cartoons set against straight men. Now their a "cancer," a "virus" and a have serious issues. They have more in common with the reality of GG Allin than they do cinematic humor.

"It's funny." Chow explains to Alan as the movie draws to a close, "No it's not." Alan replies. It's almost as if the character is apologizing for the lack of laughs in the movie. Or perhaps it's Philips' way of acknowledging that there are real issues to be looked at here. Either way it doesn't help the fact that The Hangover Part III is less comedy and more insanity.

By the film's end Alan rejects Chow's call for self-indulgence and decides to fix himself. Noble, if not entirely untrue to reality. What happened to the rehab center? Or the idea that crazy isn't fixed by crazy? He needed help, right? So naturally he marries someone who is just as deranged as he. I'm not sure what Philips was hoping for. His inability to appropriately lift humor from inspiration is a problem, but his contradicting messages are puzzling as well.

The Hangover Endures

Although I'm not looking forward to it, I have no doubt The Hangover Part III will make enough money to warrant a sequel and a renegotiation of the actors' contracts. Although the only one I can justify is the first film, The Hangover Part III at least dared to be different. In its quest to use the same characters for a new story it fell flat on its face, but at least it offers more substance than the first sequel. (Which was just substance abuse...)

The Hangover Part III did show that these characters can be used to explore some alarming ideas about those who are in mental disarray. It would be interesting to see them in stories that take on other issues. It's not a bad or even new idea for comedies to tackle serious subjects, but it would be nice if we laughed a little more next time. Perhaps Todd Philips should pass on the torch.