Review of The Hangover Part III (2013) by Jacob B — 14 Jan 2018

The Hangover Part III is a slight improvement over its predecessor but that's not really saying much. It offers a change of pace and a sense of nostalgia as we return to Las Vegas with the Wolfpack as we witness the return of Mike Epps as Black Doug and Heather Graham as Jade with the baby from the first film now four years old.

I laughed a little but Hangover III isn't a comedy, it just isn't. As an action thriller it can be entertaining to watch. I think I figured out the mystery to this movie. It's actually an excuse to give Alan a girlfriend without revisiting the same formula as the first.

This movie is meant to focus on Alan's character development, And since he's the center of attention, he's mostly the same idiot he was in the last two movies. Yet he's super unlikable in this movie since his ignorance comes off as more annoying than in the first two movies where he at least had some common sense.

Here, he just listens to music while his father dies of a heart attack behind him. Yes, he is stupid but this is really giving off a bad impression of him. Ken Jeong and John Goodman really shine here.

In fact, if Todd Phillips made a spin-off movie about Chow, I'd actually go see it. The ending makes it clear that this is the last movie in the trilogy...unless greedy executives decide to make a Hangover Part 0 focusing on Bradley Cooper's wedding since he's the only member of the Wolfpack who was already married before the first film.

The Hangover Part III is an uninspired, mean-spirited, dark conclusion to the trilogy that isn't even sure if it's supposed to be comedic though it improves in some aspects compared to Part II.

Maybe one day Cooper, Helms and Galifianakis will recollaborate. Probably something that is unrelated to the Hangover...until the executives make a last-minute plot twist that establishes that that particular movie takes place in the same universe as The Hangover since shared universes are all the rage nowadays.