And so, it all comes to end. For many The Hangover franchise came to a grinding halt after the last outing, which was just a terrible blow by blow rehash of the original in different locations. However, there is no way in hell you can apply the same criticism to the final movie in Todd Phillips trilogy. This is very, very different from whats gone before. So that means no weddings, stag nights and ironically enough, no hangovers!
Instead, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Doug (Justin Bartha) find themselves attempting to get Alan (Zach Galifianakis) to a rehab centre mixed up with a big time gangster called Marshall played by John Goodman. Marshall’s connection goes back to the original movie, but basically he wants our hapless heroes to find Mr.Chow (Kim Jeong) and the gold he’s stolen, otherwise he’s going to kill Doug. Granted nobody would miss Doug, but thats another story. As mentioned above, far removed from weddings and hangovers. It’s more of a crime caper than a comedy, and if truth be told, it’s mildly refreshing.
The characters; are, and always were likeable. The chemistry between them all is top notch (as you’d expect after 3 movies). However, it’s Zach Galifianakis thats stands out here. His performance is leaps and bounds ahead of everybody else. The bearded one shows humour, compassion and countless moments of subtle sweetness. On a number of scenes including one poignant one with Chow in the finale, it cannot help but reach out and grab you by the heart. Ed Helms can play Stu in his sleep as Cooper can play Phil. But from Bradley Coopers point, he doesn’t break much of a sweat. Don’t get me wrong, the dude is a fine actor, but it almost seems like this is something beneath him now as he rides into super stardom. Ken Jeong is absolutely bonkers as Chow and is never boring on screen and commands a serious presence. John Goodman on the other hand, while a fine actor, just is not convincing as a bad guy. He’s just a big cuddly dude, that hasn’t a bad bone in his body and as a result does not convince on any level. Make no mistake about it, this is Galifianakis’ movie.
As for the movie itself, it doesn’t deserve the slating its getting elsewhere. I’ve always felt the Hangover series was overrated as comedies anyway, and while there is little in the way of comedy after the opening few minutes, it still is watchable. No doubt hardcore fans will be disappointed with the lack of laughs (there are maybe a handful of quiet little giggle worthy moments), it’s the characters and chemistry between them that holds it all together and to be fair, Cooper and company make it very hard to dislike this. Fans of the series will also be disappointed with the lack of hangovers and stag night style action. However, after 2 movies of the exact same thing, this, as mentioned above, is a refreshing departure.
Overall, The Hangover 3 is not what you think it is. It’s perfectly watchable and is certainly streets ahead of the sequel. It’s closing moments are rather sweet and will have you feeling all nostalgic as the credits role and the trilogy comes to an end. Ultimately though, like most crazy, wild drunken nights out, you won’t remember this in the morning.