The unique-ness of Bangkok is evident to anyone who’s spent even a day here, and it offers some of the craziest and most unique experiences one can have. It’s no wonder, then, that a movie like The Hangover – which drew the weird and wonderful out of a crazy and dangerous city – wanted to have a sequel set here. Much like any place, it’s big news when a bigtime Hollywood production comes to town. Stars get glimpsed, script details get leaked, set photos get passed around, and it seems that everyone knows someone who works on, in, or around the production. It’s always fun going to see the final product, so tonight I went to see The Hangover Part 2, and here’s what I thought.

I thought that overall it was a worthy sequel to the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time. I think key was having the original cast and director back; the cast because they gel well and each are at the top of their game for their particular brand of humor, but I was especially happy director Todd Philips came back. He’s not the best director in the world, but he sure does get away with a lot and he’s not afraid to embrace a hard R in all its glory (see his past movies Road Trip and Old School, which I think are both flawed but underrated). In the age of wimpy Die Hard 4’s, I appreciate that.

All that being said, it’s pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of the first movie. Indeed, it was almost as though they decided to ‘reboot’ the franchise in a new city and happened to land the same cast. A friend of mine who was involved in the production had a lukewarm response to the final product – in fact, he suggested a script tweak that I thought would have made the movie better

[mega-spoilers follow]:

Locals really appreciated the unfiltered views of Bangkok in all its awful glory.

Locals really appreciated the unfiltered views of Bangkok in all its awful glory.

At the end of the film, Teddy – the cello-playing pre-med younger brother of the bride – has lost a finger, which he basically shrugs off like a papercut. My friend suggested it would have made more sense to have had Teddy drug the gang (instead of Alan – again) in order to experience one wild ‘Wolf Pack’ night, thus displeasing his father and getting out from under his domineering thumb (which could have been established with a short scene). At the end, he could have regretted his mistake and the problems it caused (not the least of which includes getting shot, having anal sex with a transvestite prostitute, burning down a bar, and being unwittingly involved in an international manhunt), and learned a big lesson about responsibility – which, I’ll note, is one thing the critics say the movie shows a flagrant disregard for. [spoilers end]

But it’s hard to argue with an audience that is busting a gut laughing.

Lebua must have paid a fortune to be featured so prominently.

Lebua must have paid a fortune to be featured so prominently.

At any rate, yes, I did spend most of the movie trying to figure out where they were filming. A few friends of mine made it in as background extras, and my apartment building could be glimpsed several times quite prominently. One glaring mistake that is making many locals laugh is the fact that the heroes take a speedboat from Bangkok to Krabi in a few hours – a trip that usually takes several hours by airplane (one could argue that they never specifically say they’re in Krabi, but I digress). My buddy Chris has also made a handy list of locations where the movie was filmed as well if you’re so inclined. Also check out the Bangkok Podcast episode where we interview Chris Lowenstein, who was the local line producer for the production, and shares a few good stories about what it was like dealing with such a big project.

Sitting on the bridge near Pad Khlong Talad.

Sitting on the bridge near Pad Khlong Talad.

Critics haven’t been kind, giving it a 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and local film critic Kong Rithdee – who has a near-Tarantino level knowledge and appreciation of cinema – haaaaaated it. Although with a 94% audience ranking and a record-breaking opening weekend, it clearly appealed to a large chunk of people. The standout for me was Ed Helms as Stu. His reaction to the reality of his dirty night, as well as his reaction to a gunshot wound, were absolutely priceless.

My bottom line is that was a series of peaks and valleys: when it was funny, shocking, or gross, it was those things to their maximum value, but there seemed to be a lot of downtime between said peaks. Still, it was a really funny flick that captured a lot of Bangkok at street level and in some very familiar places for anyone who lives here. Where next for part 3 – Rio de Janeiro?