Hangover 2

The Wolf Pack is Back! After the enormous success of Hangover, the most successful comedy of 2009, director Todd Phillips has once again rounded up the cast of the first film to send them on another whirlwind adventure. Although Phillips had said in an interview about the first part that he could well imagine rushing the wolf pack through a completely new starting situation, he played it safe with Hangover 2 and reverted to the proven concept of the predecessor.

There's another wedding coming up. This time, Stu (Ed Helms) wants to walk down the aisle. However, his chosen one is not the prostitute Jade, whom he had married in a drunken stupor in Las Vegas a few years ago, but the Thai Lauren. In order to comply with her parents' wishes, the wedding ceremony is to take place in Thailand. Phil (Bradley Cooper), Doug (Justin Bartha) and - after long deliberations - Alan (Zach Galifianakis) are also invited and travel together to the foreign country. Despite all his precautions, Stu, still suffering from the events in Las Vegas, agrees to join his friends and Lauren's 17-year-old brother Teddy (Mason Lee) in toasting the happy future over a bottle of beer - with fatal consequences. Because the next morning Stu, Phil and Alan wake up in Bangkok, without any memory of what happened after the first bottle of beer. And worst of all, Teddy, of all people, is lost to them in the city of millions. The search for the boy also gradually reveals what happened the previous night - and it exceeds even the worst expectations.

Hangover 2 is really not very much more than Part 1 in a new guise. The fact that the story has actually just been recycled is not the comedy's real weakness. Because there will be enough viewers who found the first film so funny that they'll happily watch it again, only with new gags. And some of these work very well, despite the high level of recognition. It becomes clear time and again that Todd Phillips and his writers have made it their goal to outdo themselves in terms of crudeness, tastelessness and relentless explicitness. And they certainly succeeded in doing so. But it lacks the really big surprise effect, which made the predecessor to something special. As funny as some moments are, the sequel simply lacks the necessary kick to stick in the memory for as long as the first film succeeded in doing.

The scene in which Phil, Doug and Stu visit Allen in his nursery, the return of Mr. Chow, a crazy chase through the streets of Bangkok or Stu's confrontation with his dark side are among the moments that make Hangover 2 absolutely worth seeing for fans of the first part. Of course you can accuse the makers lack of courage to originality, of course the film seems like a pure marketing product, on the other hand, all other expectations of a party film like this probably not been appropriate anyway.

In the U.S., the bill has already in the first days, because there the comedy in the whizzing exceeded the 100 million dollar mark. In Germany, too, it can be assumed that the film will again be a complete success. But there is one thing that really pisses us off: the decision of the FSK to release the film for children aged 12 and over is an absolute impertinence and proves once again that the FSK as an institution has lost all credibility and no longer seems to be fulfilling its mandate. It's not so much the fact that 12 year olds can see this film that is really annoying. Sure, the film contains quite a few scenes that, despite their comedic nature, are simply not appropriate for children. But well, maybe 12 year old kids are mature enough by now to hear explicit details about sex with transsexuals or an unbelievable string of swear words of the crudest kind. No, what makes this classification so infuriating is the fact that children as young as 6, accompanied by their parents, could also see this crude fun. And the reality is, unfortunately, that there are plenty of guardians who don't care what their kids see. I really don't want to seem uptight or stuffy here, but there are just things that kids should be protected from. And that's what an institution like the FSK is supposed to be for. Alone the in their crudeness admittedly very funny pictures in the credits show several things that are really not at all suitable for children's eyes.

Even if the release seems more than questionable, that doesn't change the fact that Hangover 2 is great fun. Not original and nowhere near as good as part 1, but for those who can't get enough of the wolf pack, aren't really expecting anything new, and can't laugh quite as heartily at the gags from part 1, this sequel is highly recommended.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp