The Hangover Part III is a somewhat entertaining mash-up of The Hangover and Due Date. We’ve come to expect a certain level of debauchery and funny in a series that started like a casino on fire and The Hangover Part III disappoints… that’s right, disappoints.

First there was The Hangover, a what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas concept comedy that bristled with excitement and laughter. Then there was The Hangover II, a carbon copy of The Hangover that found itself in Bangkok, and asked you to just roll with it… and a monkey.

The problem with The Hangover Part III is that it’s trying to be The Hangover without using the same formula dished out in The Hangover Part II. “How many times can the same thing happen to the same guys?” is a problem most sequels have to deal with and The Hangover Part III sidesteps collective “amnesia” formula in favour of a sequel that’s almost entirely about The Hangover’s mascot, Zach Galifianakis.

While Galifianakis is the lynchpin to this comedy series, his coming-of-age “manning up” forms the basis for Part III. It’s as if the wolf pack can only be disbanded if all the bachelors have finally been paired off. After his father dies, the pack stage an intervention for 42-year-old Alan, whose life has failed to launch. When a men’s retreat goes off the rails, the group are put under pressure to make up for a mistake from their first misadventure.

“Bedwetting is an issue that millions face every night…”

What ensues is within The Hangover world, but cut adrift from the series as the wolf pack begin a man hunt for a one old friend to save another. The Hangover Part III is not as funny as you’d expect and includes a trip down to no-donkeys-were-harmed-in-the-making-of-this-film Tijuana with some references to the previous films. This Mexican connection, Zach Galifianakis and director Todd Phillips trigger the same border control mayhem in the buddy movie Due Date, which was just funnier.

We’ve got the same players in Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha and Ken Jeong, who do their best to revive this limp Hangover sequel, but it’s a case of being neither here nor there as the vapid plotting seems to swing them from one type of thriller to another. There’s a stale seen-it-all-before feeling to the The Hangover Part III that makes it feel like the b-movie to The Hangover it is.

What was needed is a complete overhaul, but they’ve opted to go for a generic bag of money thriller with a side order of comedy, mostly thanks to over-the-top shenanigans from Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong. It’s somewhat disappointing, cruising in on the coat tails of its predecessors. They’ve traded the smart situational comedic tone of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in for a darker, more tenacious Very Bad Things flavour.

So it’s not a great film, but it does enough to hold your attention, spicing things up with some ridiculously funny Zach Galifianakis moments and intermittent appearances from the likes of Heather Graham, Melissa McCarthy and John Goodman. We’re so busy tracking their next hair-brained scheme, and waiting for it to shift up a gear, that it’s over before you know it.

Once you’ve seen the movie trailer, there are very few highlights to report and without live-wire cast chemistry or a provocative sense of curiosity, there’s very little to spur it on. Todd Phillips has underplayed his hand on a safe bet and while the film is punctuated by the odd laugh, it just fades out without much to take away. All you’ll have left is a bland recollection of funnier and more frenetic times in The Hangover and The Hangover Part II.

The bottom line: Disappointing

Release date: 31 May, 2013
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