The Hangover trilogy ranked highly with critics because of the wild antics and mischief the main characters got into. The first movie was a classic bachelor party gone wrong that encouraged the age-old statement “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” What followed were two sequels that continued shenanigans where the main characters don’t anything from the night before. With Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, and Ed Helms, leading the trilogy, The Hangover became a success.
However, three movies don’t necessarily mean that each film was better than the next. Sometimes high budgets can cloud the storyline with out-of-the-ordinary settings and expectations (and while The Hangover had funny scenes throughout its three movies, every movie isn’t created equally in rank). Award-wise, The Hangover was the only movie nominated for a Golden Globe, while the sequels were both nominated for cinematic failures at the Razzie Awards. They're viewed as financial successes but one is better than the next.
3 The Hangover Part III (2013)
The Hangover III brought the gang together again to help Alan, as he went through a difficult time after the death of his father. To get Alan the help he needed, Phil, Doug, and Stu escort Alan to a treatment facility where they’re taken hostage by a drug lord looking for their friend Mr. Chow. Despite The Hangover III’s funniest quotes, it’s ranked as the lowest, respectively. The film brought in over $362 million at box offices worldwide (via The Numbers), and while a financial success, it had negative reviews. Variety described The Hangover III as an "Official descent into pitiable pointlessness.”. Despite its success, publications found the movie nonsensical with its tiresome storylines.
2 The Hangover Part II (2011)
The Hangover II was the highest-grossing movie in the franchise, reaching over $586 million (via Box Office MoJo). It picked up where the first left off two years after their wild night in Vegas. Now that it was Stu’s turn to get married, the foursome flew to Thailand for a destination wedding and an unintentionally out-of-control bachelor party.
Despite its high box office numbers, The Hangover II couldn’t pull off what the original did. A movie that never needed a sequel, The Guardian gave The Hangover II one star out of five for repeating too many of the original’s jokes and scenes. They wrote, "All the fun has been drained from the movie, simply in repeating almost every trick. The same: but lame, and lame because the same.” Still, the humor and all-star cast proved to be great distractions.
1 The Hangover (2009)
The Hangover is the highest-ranked movie in the franchise because of its originality. The jokes were fresh, the storyline was out of this world, and the cast was even better. The film follows Doug, who is having his bachelor party in Las Vegas with his two best friends and new brother-in-law Alan. Wanting to have an epic night, Alan drugged the group but didn’t expect it to get so out of hand - especially as no one could find the groom-to-be and had to retrace their steps to find him.
One of Todd Phillips’ highest-grossing movies, The Hangover earned over $468 million worldwide at the box office (via Box Office Mojo) and was praised by critics. Although the story of getting drunk in Vegas and forgetting everything the next day is a cliché, The Hangover is a happy one as it won several accolades. The Hangover brought home a Golden Globe for Best Picture in a comedy or musical and a BAFTA for Best Screenplay - Orignal. It was a nominee for the Writers Guild of America for Best Original screenplay. In comparison to the others, this one was certainly more memorable than the others.
