Todd Phillips's hair of the dog to the highest grossing comedy film of 2009 is a 101-minute alcohol- and drug-fuelled bender that strands the same beleaguered characters in the same hellish nightmare and watches them squirm. The location may have changed from sun-baked Las Vegas to tropical Thailand but The Hangover Part II rests lazily on its moldering laurels, engineering familiar scenarios to inflict the maximum physical and emotional distress on the two-dimensional characters. The sequel curbs a few excesses - less plot, less laughs, less fun - and merrily chugs down a cocktail of racist, sexist and homophobic jibes that leave a nasty taste in the mouth.
more
