The Hangover Part II

OMG seems appropriate in more ways than one--both as a comment in itself and as a recognizable label for Generation Z, the core audience (I want to believe). This comedy had the biggest weekend opening to date--the price of tickets has something to do with that--so when it seemed like the only possible movie I could imagine myself watching at the cineplex last night, even though I hated the original, my husband and I added to the total take, ensuring that there will, indeed, be a Part III sometime soon.  Hollywood believes that something which works the first time must continue to work, all elements being equal and identical, and if money were the only measure, the truth of that is borne out here.

But for me, a movie's box office has little to do with its value, especially in present day America. While I was sitting in the theater, only partially engaged with the action on the screen, I had an opportunity to ruminate on the forces and predilections that brought Hangover II to the screen, and the reasons that it is, for me, a dire comment on American tastes and values. It strikes me that, for a country which has gone in the direction of conservatism and religious extremism politically and socially, this movie represents and showcases the ugly underbelly of that. As a nation when we are most vociferously touting Christian and/or family values, our history has shown that we are doing dirty things in the closet, waging war in the name of our skewed values, and tolerating hypocrisy in ourselves.  And this movie seems to me to be a metaphor for that.

The plot is Hangover I redux with more crudity, nudity, jokes to the grossest common denominator, and situations which, if real, would cause not just havoc, but despair, in anyone's life. I'm not sure that I ever laughed throughout. And I love to laugh, which is one of the reasons I chose this movie. My sons, who loved Hangover I, think that I didn't give it a fair assessment, so I saw viewing Hangover II as a way to give the series a second chance. As one of my sons said, there may be a disconnect between my generation (Baby Boomer) and Generation Z in comedy appreciation.  But I don't believe that. As I told him, I will never look back on this movie and say, "Well, that was a classic!" Time will not improve Hangover II; instead it will expose its stereotypical humor and its impoverished view of society.

My standard for good comedy is Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert--intelligent comedy that comments on the world at large and exposes its insanity, prejudice, and ridiculousness. I loved Sacha Baron Cohen's parodies, and Bill Maher's "Religulous" because they actually SAID something about society. While still being very funny, they exposed truths about us, and made us think. The only thing Hangover II made me think was how sad it is that we have come to this. The really sad part is the box office take because SO many people are willing to pay to see this. What has happened to our taste, our standards?

For instance a lot of the comedy concerns, for mainstream cinema, sexual taboos, yet none of it serves any larger purpose. Like the diarrhea sequence in "Bridesmaids" it just seems a little pathetic, and both pander to the bodily function discomfort in all of us, about which we laugh, out of EMBARRASSMENT, not actual amusement. We have all been there, and the memory is uncomfortable, not truly funny. It is just TOO EASY to make those jokes. So why do it?

Leaving the movie, I looked at some in the audience. One man with his, at most, twelve year old son. Parenting is something I won't get into here, but this is another societal concern. Young people--early 20's--laughing and talking about how funny it was. A couple of  middle-aged women who sat behind me and giggled all through the movie. To say that I felt a disconnect with them is putting it mildly. I suppose I am the one who is out of step here. But the only value this movie has for me is to point out the society from which it springs, so it saddens and disheartens me. Sometimes my son tells me not to watch so many serious movies that are, he thinks, downers for me. No, THIS is the real downer for me, a movie with no real humor, no intelligence, no self-knowledge. See it if you want, but it is truly a waste of time.

And by the way, I think a monkey was harmed in the making of this movie. No kidding.