With The Hangover Part II a little over a week away, Todd Phillips is out on the publicity trail for the movie and discussing various bits and bats around the movie and even talking up a sequel. First off he talked to Collider about the opportunity of doing a sequel, which could be taken as Phillips just being flippant but equally there could be some truth in the matter. He is quoted as saying:
If we were to do a third one, and quite honestly we really haven’t talked about it as we just finished the movie two weeks ago, this is the first time we’ve all been together in awhile. If we were to do a third one, if the audience…if the desire was there…I think we have a clear idea where that would head and it’s certainly not in the same template you’ve seen these movies and obviously we always envisioned it as a trilogy as you can imagine (lots of laughter), the third would very much a finale and an ending.
The most I could say about it and I haven’t discussed it with these actors is that it is not following that template but very much a new idea. As far as where it takes place…I’m very open like the Olympic committee to being pitched and presented cities…flown around with wine and women and bribed and then I will make my decision.
So while that is clearly a comic statement, you have to remember that The Hangover took over $460 million worldwide, and now it has a sequel. So if the second part does anything like the business the first one did you can bet your bottom dollar you’ll see a third part. Another thing he said, which was picked by The Playlist, was in answering to the similarity to the original, a point that has been much reported. In answer to this he said:
The blueprint of The Hangover Part II is very similar to the blueprint of ‘Hangover’ one, it’s a special thing that the ‘The Hangover’ sort of owns that blueprint. We talked a lot about ways to make a sequel. The freshest way is in embracing that template that existed but spinning it. There’s not one joke that’s the same in the movie. It’s essentially a comedy, every joke is different. And, since when have comedies really been so much about the plot?
Well that’s a good point… Until the final statement. Comedies have always been about plot. Look back at things all the way back to His Girl Friday through to stuff like Monty Python’s Life of Brian & Some Like It Hot and passed on down to films such as Sideways or The Big Lebowski. Comedies have always had plots.
Even The Hangover had a plot. So don’t give us that excuse, a better one would have been “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and it’s that kind of attitude that is permeating around the project. I can’t say I’m that thrilled about seeing another Hangover sequel, clearly its a formula used to terrific effect last time round and the original was a genuinely funny film. This just looks like a rehash and, if one were to be cynical, a way of cashing in.