Playing offense: Hangover II spares no one

Is this some kind of a test? The Hangover Part II plays like a challenge to the audience's capacity for raunchiness. It gets laughs, but some of them are in disbelief. As if making sure no one was not offended, it has a montage of still photos in the closing titles that includes one cruel shot that director Todd Phillips should never, ever have used. The MPAA's elaboration of the R rating says the movie has "pervasive language, strong sexual content including graphic nudity, drug use and brief violent images." Also other stuff. Maybe their space was limited.

It's not that I was shocked. This is a raunch-fest, yes, but not an offense against humanity (except for that final photo, which is a desecration of one of the two most famous photos to come out of Vietnam). The movie has its share of laughs. There's a wedding toast that deserves some sort of award for deliberate social embarrassment. And Alan (Zach Galifianakis), the character who stole much of the original 2009 film, walks off with a lot of this one, too. Full review.