This is really superfluous, it's been out for ages and frankly, does anyone care? We all knew exactly what it'd be like, and if you didn't, well there's something wrong with you. Regardless, I post my first in donkeys because it's obvious and easy.
I liked the first installment in what I really hope doesn't become a franchise. Yeah, it was purile, it was lowbrow and it was never trying to be a classic. It shamelessly pandered to the guys who liked Dude, Where's My Car? But let's be fair, the character of Alan is unique enough to make the movie worthy of note by itself, and the fact that everyone who saw the movie said some variation of "OMG we totally do shit like that!" (fun fact, you probably don't) or "man, I want my bachelor party to be like that!" (although I don't know why you would, the guy who was getting married missed all the fun and got a vicious sunburn, so really it was his friends who scored) meant it was always going to be a success. Be a cynic here, that film was always going to go gangbusters. It was well written enough to appeal to pretty much everyone except people who dislike it on principle, for example my scriptwriting tutor this semester just past. Come get me, film students.
So, following up a success, you've really got two options:
1) Follow the formula of the original very closely, but try and amplify the aspects that made it successful in the first place.
2) Change the formula and try to make the follow-up as good as the original in its own right, not just piggybacking on previous successes.
If you have a pulse, you probably knew, without knowing anything else about the film, which option the producers were gonna take on this one. Kid A or Ritual de lo Habitual, this ain't (woo music references woo). It may come as a surprise to you, but this doesn't piss me off very much at all; if you went into this movie expecting anything other than a rehashing of the first film in a more extreme setting, you're a moron.
Which leads us to the inevitable bagging out of the film. Let me say before I tear into it, though, it was funny. It was very funny. It was worth the money spent on the ticket (my ticket was bought for me, but I spent 9 pounds at the candy bar, so it levels out, maybe? I don't care, piss off). Go see it if you have nothing better to do.
BUT! Fuck they dropped the ball on this one. The character of Alan went from being an interesting, eccentric individual to a set-piece manchild. The original Alan came off as a slightly tapped but otherwise functional human being. I mean, think about it. He was able to successfully count cards, carry out a drug deal and basically navigate social situations. The Alan in this film is completely inept at virtually everything he does. I know this seems petty, but when I wasn't laughing at something he had done, I was wishing the scene was over because he was pissing me off. It ended up being about 50/50.
Also, there's following a formula and then there's just flat out making the same film. I could wager that, if played side by side, the scenes would sync up almost scene for scene. Of course, they had to try and top themselves somehow, so how do they do it? More boobs, a few penises, lots more swearing and some overt references to buttsex between two men. Oh, and a monkey. Yeah, sure, it's set in Bangkok so it was always going to have some references to ladyboys, but seriously? There's such a thing as trying too hard. It didn't really sparkle like the first film, it was more an unpleasant glare.
Yep, that's pretty much it. I'm annoyed because they wrote a character differently to how I would have liked and tried a little harder to offend me. If my pettiness is surprising, I don't know what to tell you. I study Arts and Communications and practice being judgemental for fun. If you need some sort of succinct rating system, how about "it was pretty OK" stars out of ten? It wasn't a waste of cash, but it's probably not worth a repeat viewing until it's a weekly at the video shop. Alternatively, just download it. It wouldn't be a total waste of disc space.
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