Hangover 2’ offers more of the same kind of laughter

So, after seeing five movies in two days, and following the five-hour drive home from the Seattle International Film Festiva l, what does a good movie fan do? Goes to see another movie, of course.

Which is what we did late Sunday, catching the 9:30 screening of “Hangover 2” at AMC’s River Park Square Theatres. We went to the show thinking that we’d have few problems. I mean, what Spokane movie fan goes to a late-night show on a Sunday, even on  - maybe especially on - a three-day holiday weekend?

A fair amount last night. We were lucky to get seats at all, much less the seats we prefer. But we scored them. Question is, was the effort worth it?

Well, yes and no. You can do a movie like “The Hangover” only once. I mean, to get the best effect anyway. Second time around all you can do is more of the same, which is the problem with most sequels. And more isn’t always - is seldom, I would argue - better.

And so you have the same set-up. This time, the impending wedding is Stu’s (played by Ed Helms). Still reeling from the debacle two years before in Las Vegas, Stu doesn’t want a bachelor party. In fact, he doesn’t want anything to interfere his marriage to the Thai beauty who, unaccountably, has fallen for his dentist persona.

But, then, there’s that one beer on the beach and … well, you know the rest. Stu, Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) wake up in a ratty Bangkok hotel room, unaware of anything that’s happened. Good news is that this time the fourth friend, Doug (Justin Bartha) is safe back at the Thai resort. Bad news is that the amnesia-stricken trio seem to have lost Stu’s future brother-in-law, Teddy (Mason Lee).

You know what happens next. The whole film, again directed by Todd Phillips, is an attempt by our protagonists to figure out what happened - and to find Teddy. They also want to find out why Alan has a shaved head, why Stu has a f ace tattoo similar to Mike Tyson’s and why they’re being tailed by a monkey.

The best parts involve Galifianakis, whose non-sequiters underscore pretty much everything that happens. And the movies is filled with not just laughs by guffaws.

It’s just not particularly original. Even so, it’s better than a majority of what Hollywood likes to call comedy.

Below: The trailer for “The Hangover: Part 2.”