Hangover 2: The sick truth

There is no denying that The Hangover is a major success finacially and commercially, and now that the sequal is now out its enjoying great success again right? Well Hangover 2 has been plagued with many marketing problems, which strangly enough seem to all surround Ed Helms character Stu. First it was the Mike Tyson face tatoo ordeal, but the less public issue is the anti-homosexual message the second film shows.

Ed Helm's character is essentially a implosive sociopath who seems to run into more bad luck then anyone else in the movie. In the first movie he is put into the awkward situation of marrying a stripper. While this could of turned into a comedic goldmine, it actually end up turning into the heart of the first film. The first film (and dissapointingly the second film) is about three friends losing their soon-to-be married friend after a wild night in Las Vegas. The first film works because it is about three not so good guys getting the crap beat out of them by the harsh reality of Vegas. No part of this story even begins to tug on the heart strings like the Stripper with the heart of gold does. Sure if she was just a stripper this side story could of ended up as nothing but a cruel joke, but instead turns into the biggest moral dilemma of the entire film. Once we start to learn more about this women you learn she is a caring young girl who is hoping that her new husband will be enough to support her and her baby. This dilema puts an entire new spin on the classic discription of a stripper. Usually we do not think much of people like this, but when their entire life is depending on one nights mistake, and this character turns out to be a genuine sweetheart it begs the question: what would you do in this situation?

In the second film not only does it lack the iconic location, such as Vegas, but it has no moral dilema. In the second film it is implied that Stu has had sex with a transexual stripper. There is no hidden message in this situation; instead all the movie does is run with this as a sick joke, as if this is a completly wrong act. Its as if the movie was promoting homophobia. At no point does the character have some sort of realization of his actions, but instead just keeps saying "ew gross how can anyone do this!". This is not just the reaction the characters seem to go through but consequently the reaction of the entire movie; and because this is one of the major jokes of the film it is the expected reaction from the audience. It is a completly disgusting move on the writers, producers, and everyone involved part. The is no resolution to this storyline, it just ends. This is just bad comedy; and while the first Hangover was a good film it needed no sequal especially one so morally immature.