The Hangover Part II

First Hit: There are no real surprises here as it is the same film as Part I with a few new twists and a new location.

When a film presents a somewhat new view on an event like the original “The Hangover” did, it is easy to get caught up and enjoy it.

The concept of “no one knowing" what happened the night before until they view the ending pictures was fun the first time around. To do a sequel means the surprise is over unless the filmmaker can create a real and new next step in the concept.

The Hangover Part II fails this in all ways. The initial scene tells us directly, “we’ve done it again”. Then the film takes us back a week and attempts to prepare us for the boys to not have the same event because they’ve taken precautions. It wouldn’t be a film if they really did and here is where this film fails.

We don’t believe any of the first part of the film because we’ve already gotten a preview that it is going to be worse than the first one because of Phil’s (played by Bradley Cooper) opening scene phone call. Mistake, mistake, mistake and because of this we have to wade through all of what we basically know will happen to that fateful phone call.

Yes some of it is funny, some of it is cute, but basically the audience has to wade through this stuff until the phone call, and then we get to see how they make things right (as we know will happen). The boys are the same boys as in the first film with Phil, Stu (played by Ed Helms), and Alan (played by Zach Galifianakis).

Additionally Doug (played by Justin Bartha) is back, but not as the one the other three misplace this time. Also back is Mr. Chow (played by Ken Jeong). There is a new person lost in this film and his name is Teddy (played by Mason Lee) who is the younger brother of Lauren (played by Jamie Chung) who happens to be the bride character this time.

Cooper is OK as the smart; level headed one of the three. Helms is fine the overwrought groom dentist who “has a dark side”. Galifianakis is OK as overly pampered rich guy who wants to be part of the “wolf pack”. Bartha has virtually no role as he did in the first film and appears only to be there for congruency. Jeong has a larger part in this film than in the past and he makes the most of the character. Craig Mazin and Scot Armstrong were the compliant scriptwriters that robbed most the script of this film from the first film by using MS Word's search and replace feature as the main writing tool. Todd Phillips might be better staying as a producer than a director as he created little in the way of engagement. Proof? The audience laughed very little and it was a ¾ full theater.

Overall: God hopes they don’t’ try to make a Part III and IV but it appears the writing is on the wall or in Word, that is.

All About Steve

First Hit: This is absolutely the worst Sandra Bullock film yet. It was a waste of celluloid and of my time.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Sandra Bullock but in this film, she fails to create a likable, interesting character let alone one worth caring about.

The film begins by wanting us to believe that Mary Horowitz (Bullock) is smarter than most people because of her ability to create crossword puzzles and that she wants to create a daily puzzle instead of her weekly one. The discussions about her crossword prowess with her boss and anyone who will listen to her is suppose to build her credibility.

However, what it does do is alienate both the people she’s talking to and much of the audience. Her parents set her up with Steve (played by Bradley Cooper) a news cameraman who is supposed to be a knockout, at least in her eyes. As soon as they get to his truck to leave for their date, she attacks him and pushes to have sex.

Steve is initially excited but then sees that she’s a little too talkative, odd and aggressive and tells her he has to leave. I don't know if this is suppose to be funny or sad; a man turning down sex with a beautiful woman or because this all happens outside of Mary's parents house just moments after they got into the truck.

Because he wants to let her down gently he alters the truth and says if she didn't have a job she could travel with him. Steve's reality is that as she gets out, he hopes to never see her again. However, Mary becomes obsessed with Steve, writes a crossword where every clue and answer is about Steve, and because she does this she gets fired. This is the film's setup.

The rest of the film is about her chasing Steve down at his various news sites and causing trouble for Steve or others. Thomas Haden Church plays Hartman, the on-screen commentator which Steve films at each of their news events. He has a childish mean streak in him so he continues to encourage Mary to follow them from news scene to news scene by telling Mary that Steve really loves her.

Bullock is bad in this film. Her accent, non-stop rambling and quirkiness created a character which couldn’t be cared about let alone believable. Haden Church was funny at times as was Ken Jeong as Angus, their on-site director. Cooper was lost and added little to the film and gave no reason, other than his looks, as to why anyone would be obsessed with him.

Overall: This was a waste of time and I’m not sure how and why the actors signed up for this extended strip of celluloid. Please don’t bother going to see this.