The Hangover Part III [Blu-Ray]

The supplemental material included on The Hangover Part III disc gives a pretty good indication of what the lasting legacy of the comedic trilogy will be now that it's reached its conclusion. Two amusing faux-documentaries highlight the franchise's break-out stars, with one detailing the secret auditions held to replace Zach Galifianakis with other actors, mostly from within The Hangover universe, and the other attempts to convince that actor Ken Jeong really is his slippery character: Chow. The third instalment gives the scene-stealing Jeong the ample screen time he's earned from his impressive work in the previous two, while much of the humour hinges again on the shaggy charm of Galifianakis, who found what will likely be the role of his career as the hapless Alan. As the third film opens, Alan's "Wolf Pack," which consists, for the uninitiated, of the unfailingly cool Phil (Bradley Cooper), nerdy dentist Stu (Ed Helms) and largely forgettable Doug (Justin Bartha), assembles to help Alan get the professional help he needs after the death of his father. Their trip to the facility is interrupted, however, when they're kidnapped by imposing gangster Marshall (John Goodman), who enlists the group to track down the recently escaped Chow and retrieve the gold bars he stole. This first leads to Tijuana, to rob a house where the gold is stashed, and, when things don't go exactly as planned, eventually brings them back to where it all began: Las Vegas. Stripped of the reverse structure of the original and faced with group dynamics that have become a little too familiar at this point, this final bow wisely opts to go for broke. It may not be the funniest of their escapades (which is still the first) or the wildest (as the sequel's outrageousness was also its biggest crutch), but it makes sure it's the biggest. It's ironic how the odd friendship that exists between Alan and Chow is born out of their shared status as outsiders, since the two actors are the ones that have made the biggest impacts, going from fringe players to household names thanks to the series. While Cooper capably delivers the bulk of the exposition and Helms is a typically reliable straight man, it's Galifianakis and Jeong that make this a worthy ending to a respectable, but fairly uneven trilogy. A look at the how they created some of the more outlandish stunts is another highlight of the supplemental material, while outtakes featuring Galifianakis are predictably enjoyable, giving an indication of how much freedom he had to alter his dialogue on-set.