When Alan’s (Zach Galifianakis) father dies, the Wolfpack decides he needs professional help dealing with his eccentricities.
A simple road trip turns into a wacky caper when a gangster heavy named Marshal (John Goodman) forces the gang to find, capture and return Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) who has stolen millions in gold.
We say, “It’s fun, but not funny.”
TAYLOR: Director Todd Phillips brings us The Hangover III which, like its predecessors, is a tale of ridiculous hair-brained adventure, brought on in part by misfortune, but mostly self-induced.
Galifianakis is his usual, awkward weirdo. Jeong revives the probably psychopathic Mr. Chow with gusto. The film has some exciting moments, real action, real tension, but I didn’t laugh, not once.
HOWE: Hangover III just feels like the next day after a drinking binge; all you want to do is pop a few headache pills and hope that you forget what you have witnessed.
I thought the second one was bad enough, but part three is just dreadful. I don’t get why some people think Galifianakis is funny. I know he is playing a character, but if he was in my family, myself or one of my brothers would have slapped him by now.
TAYLOR: Cringe comedy (comedy stemming from discomfort) has certain levels: “Man gets hit in groin by football” is funny, a caveman would laugh. So we have slapstick. Then Monty Python came along and gave us black comedy, where fun was had at the expense of serious matters, like death.
When I was young, we had but rare attempts at lone weirdos, jerks and misfits, such as Steve Martin or Andy Kaufman. The ‘90s pushed us further into uncomfortable territory because of Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, the Farrelly brothers, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Because those films made so much money, “the uncomfortable comedy wave” has washed over us all. We are drowning in neurosis. Today, our extremist cravings have brought cringe comedy to a level requiring truly insane behaviour. Occasionally, I’ll find such films funny, usually it is dependant on the crazy character being likeable or believable.
HOWE: I am so happy this franchise has ended, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they’re not going to do a 10-year, one-off anniversary special. There was a lot of wasted talent in this: John Goodman, Bradley Cooper and Melissa McCarthy. Hopefully Cooper will get back to doing what he does best and act. He’s proven his talent in the last couple of movies he’s been in.
TAYLOR: I don’t think the film fails completely, I just didn’t find the humour in it effective. Yet, it’s a pretty good caper. If you go to it expecting something exciting, rather than funny, it becomes less disappointing. At least there’s nothing disgusting in it. However, Hangover III is charged with the task of making me laugh and came up very short. If you want exciting action from your movie, go see Fast & Furious 6 instead.
— Howe gives The Hangover Part III 1.5 parachutes out of 5.
— Taylor gives it 2 stay for the credits out of 5.
The film is currently showing at the Galaxy Cinemas in Vernon.
— Peter Howe and Brian Taylor are freelance movie reviewers based in Vernon, B.C. Their column, Reel Reviews with Taylor and Howe, appears in The Morning Star every Friday and Sunday.
