Surprisingly avoiding the intoxication genre, Hangover II stumbles wobbly-headed into the straight-man-prodded-into-corruption genre. Truly, HII has some very funny moments. I laughed many times. But, the laughs were not quite strong enough nor plentiful enough to save the film. Additionally, for all that this twisted plot puts us through, we deserved a better ending. Lastly, aside from the actor who played Stu, I found the other performances less than engaging -- even on a comedic level.

Sadly, the picture lacks an emotive connection as well as any social relevance sported by recent, similarly crude films (Knocked Up, to name one). While a film can still be good without these elements, it better be outstanding in its area of expertise. Which, would probably be comedy in this case.

That said, here are a few things the picture did extremely well. The location and setting shots of Thailand were rich, large and truly gorgeous. In fact, for such a silly throw-away comedy, the cinematography, in general, is top notch. Filmmakers also made great use of music. Specifically, the scene in which Stu strums guitar on a riverboat while singing his woes -- I found that magnificent. The elevator serenade also sincerely tickled my funny bone.

I did not see the first, but my buddy assures me that I & II are equally funny.

-- Books by Ross Anthony, Author/Illustrator --