Warner Bros.
100 min., dir. by Todd Phillips, with Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis

Audiences didn’t know what they were in for when the first Hangover movie hit the theaters. It is a perfect mix of twisted comedy magic that really sticks with people. Unfortunately, its droves of fans were less than forgiving when the sequel came out, boisterously complaining that it was just more of the same. Taking the fan fervor to heart, The Hangover Part III breaks the mold slightly, and while there are still laughs to be had, the changes feel forced and, in ways, blasphemous. Still, it ultimately delivers what everyone expects — just not to the heights of greatness.

With the craziness of their Bangkok adventure behind them, life is pretty normal for Stu, Phil, and Doug (Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, and Justin Bartha). Alan (Zach Galifianakis), on the other hand, has been off his medication for several months, wreaking havoc and providing unhealthy amounts of stress on his family. After a set of tragically unfortunate events leads to the death of someone close to Alan, his family decides it’s time for an intervention. Enlisting the help of Stu and Phil, Doug plans to force Alan to agree to check into a rehab clinic in Arizona, with the Wolf Pack driving down together to admit him. On the way, however, the gang is hijacked by a ruthless gangster hellbent on locating the one and only Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong). Taking Doug hostage, the cold-blooded killer tasks the boys with finding Chow (who recently broke out of the Bangkok prison he was sent to) and delivering him all tied up, with a nice bow around him. With the most pressing danger ever laying on their heads, the rest of the pack race to find Chow, and land in some typical hot water along the way.

To this day, I still feel that The Hangover Part II gets a bad wrap. Is it a stroke of comedy brilliance? No. Was it generally the same thing again with new jokes? Of course — but what did people really expect? Audience members will pay out the nose for yet another installment of The Fast & The Furious, which is the same movie over and over again, but one comedy decides to rehash its successful formula and the smack talk starts to fly.  So now, The Hangover III is forced to change, when in reality the main events are still the same: Stu, Phil, and Alan have to fight against immeasurable odds to save a friend, and comedy ensues. Yet despite that the movie is called The Hangover, no one is drunk, drugged, or mildly groggy for this adventure. The first two films relied heavily on the revelations of the previous night to really sell the laughs. The Hangover and Part II are, in essence, anthology films; a string of vignettes that follow the same characters in one story line. That void of mystery and surprise in this go-around punches a hole in the comedy power of the film.

The majority of the funny sections of The Hangover Part III come from reaction shots and facial expressions. The film is billed as a balls-out, over-the-top, no-holds-barred, big blast to end it all. While there is an aura of grandiose action and stylized photography, it’s the more subtle and lighter aspects that are most entertaining.

The Hangover Part II is not a majestic example of amazing comedy, but it’s highly enjoyable and shouldn’t irk people for following a formula. The Hangover Part III is also enjoyable; however, it does deserve a bit of criticism for succumbing the word of the masses, and heading down a different road. Director Todd Phillips knows who his fans are and didn’t want to disappoint them, but this is one of those times the man in charge should have said, “Fuck off — I know what works, so let me show you.”

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Matthew Schuchman is the founder and film critic of Movie Reviews From Gene Shalit’s Moustache and a contributor to Den of Geek.