While Todd Phillips and the returning gang of The Hangover deserve credit for boldly departing from the previous two installments of the franchise by not allowing Phil, Stu and Alan to descend into another round of debauchery, The Hangover Part III forgot one crucial element: the funny.
While Part II was nearly a carbon copy of Part I, it was, at least, amusing, unlike Part III, which was disturbing and ghoulish, and so far from the tone of the first film that the original Hangover might as well be a Three Stooges movie. The primary issue is with the character of Alan (Zach Galifianakis), who is supposed to be a well-meaning innocent, but is played as deranged and psychotic. In clinical terms, Alan has sociopathic tendencies with borderline personality disorder. And as we’re supposed to root for Alan, we’re also supposed to roll on the floor and laugh at the antics of Mr. Chow, who, despite being criminally on par with the worst of America’s Most Wanted, is still great pen pals with Alan.
With all the hardcore criminals, including John Goodman’s Marshall, you might mistake this movie for something from the Michael Mann oeuvre, but the result is exactly the same: a very unfunny movie.
