The Hangover part III

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
  The Hangover 3
Released 5/24/13, now in theaters

The Wolfpack is back for the third and final offering in The Hangover series.  Series regulars Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, and Ken Jeong return.  Newcomers, Melissa McCarthy and John Goodman add to the madness.  Can the third chapter in the series make a comeback from what many consider to be the lackluster part 2?  That remains to be seen...

International criminal, Leslie Chow (Jeong), is incarcerated in a Thai prison after the events of Hangover 2.  A prison riot provides cover for his escape.  He returns to the U.S. as a wanted fugitive.

Alan Garner (Galifianakis) has always been a little strange to say the least.  Not taking his medication worsens his condition.  When he purchases a giraffe that is subsequently decapitated by a low bridge on the highway causing a massive multi-car pile up, his family, particularly his father (Jeffrey Tambor) is fed up.  When he dies of a heart attack after reading the riot act to his son, the family decides it's time for Alan to seek help.  However, he will not enter a rehab facility in Arizona unless the rest of the Wolfpack (Doug, Stu, and Phil) take him there. 

En route to the facility, the Wolfpack is intercepted by a gangster known as Marshall (Goodman).  Marshall knows Chow escaped and is back in the U.S.  Unknown to the rest of the Pack, Chow has been communicating with Alan through text and email which Marshall knows about as well.  Marshall has business with Chow.  It seems four years ago, Chow stole $21 million in gold from him.  As an insurance policy to ensure the Pack's cooperation in finding his nemesis, Marshall holds Doug with the threat that he will kill him if Chow isn't brought to him in three days.

Phil, Stu, and Alan set out on another adventure in lunacy encountering some crazy characters along the way, including pawn shop owner, Cassie (McCarthy), who develops a strange (sick?) bond with Alan while attempting to find and capture Chow.

I didn't think Hangover 2 was a bad movie.  It's biggest issue was that it was primarily a rehash of The Hangover in a different venue.  That said, Hangover 3 is a better movie mostly due to a much different plotline.  But hard as all involved may try, it still doesn't come close to living up to the first which is an all time classic.  And it's not anyone's fault really.  It's extremely difficult to equal, let alone, top a classic. 

The show stealer here, as he has been in every chapter, is Ken Jeong as Chow.  Chow is at different times creepy, sympathetic, and violent, but always hilarious no matter what his mood happens to be.  One thing I can do without though is Jeong's full frontal nudity which we get to see in all its glory (again). 

McCarthy and Goodman are nice additions to the cast that add new flavors to this crazy.  Aside from Chow's scenes, McCarthy as Cassie, has the next best and funniest scenes in the movie.  I'm beginning to think there's nothing she won't do to get a laugh (reference the sucker scene). 

Hangover 3 sends the series off on a good if not a great note and is solidly the second best film in the franchise. 

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

***1/4 stars



Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee. Buy this on DVD when released!
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.