The Hangover Part 3: why 'everything is different'

‘The Hangover Part 2’ was a massive hit, making even more cash than the first film. It got mixed reviews though because, critics argued, it had essentially the same plot of the first movie: Wolf Pack visit town for a stag-do, they get wasted and wake up unable to remember the night before and hilarity ensues.

Thankfully it seems ‘Part III’ is tinkering with the formula to ensure this ‘Hangover’ stands up on its own.  But how? Yahoo! Movies chatted to Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, director Todd Philips and co-writer Craig Mazin on the Las Vegas set to find out.

[Related story: Second Hangover Part III trailer reveals Chow-heavy plot]
[Related story: John Goodman gets mean in new Hangover Part III posters]

There’s no hangover
Delivering a fresh plot this time around was the top priority for director Phillips.

He said: “There's no hangover in this movie. They're not trying to remember anything. There's no forgotten night in this movie. The thing that sets everything into motion is different.

“I think it was clear that even for us and for the actors, we wanted to change. It's hard to believe you'd have a night like that, let alone, two. It's impossible to believe three.”

Co-writer Craig Mazin agreed claiming that they “knew from the start that there wasn't going to be a blackout”.

“[Todd] felt that this needed to be a conclusion that reflected on why that kept happening. So we knew from the start that there wasn't gonna be a blackout. We knew how to write to a template of: Go somewhere, pass out... and then those movies are investigations, they're sort of crime dramas in a weird way. It's like detectives, except that the suspect is you and you're trying to figure out what you've done. We didn't have any of that.”

It’s not Alan’s fault...
Loveable buffoon Alan essentially set in motion the first two ‘Hangover’ movies. Not this time, said a relieved Zach Galifianakis, who revealed: “Well, I think in the first two movies, it was Alan's fault that they were in that situation. He does cause problems, obviously. The first one, certainly, he purposely spiked our drinks, and in the second one he accidentally did something. In this one, it's not as much on the head as that.

“They're worried about him this time, whereas the other two movies, everything was kind of fun. But now there seems to be a little bit more gravity to Alan's 'out-of-control'-ness.”

As soon as the third movie was announced, it was rumoured that Alan would break out of a mental institute. This is not true.

“[This] is not what [the movie is] about. I don't know where these rumours start,” said Phillips.

...but it is ‘Alan’s movie’
Todd Phillips said: “This movie's definitely more Alan's story, Zach's character, which is why it sort of is the final one. It feels like that's the last stone we haven't really turned over: what's his problem and where is he at, and what's the final word on him.

“Alan's a mess,” said Mazin. “And so where we like to start from is a place of being real. I mean, ‘What's wrong with that guy?’ For real.”

Galifianakis agreed: “You see Alan struggle with why he is the way he is, and we explore it in the story more than in the past.

“Whereas before, it was kind of one-dimensional, just a goofy guy that says a bunch of weird things, which is fine and good, but maybe the audience wants to see a little bit more of a layered story, so that's one of the big changes, I think.”

It’s darker
The first two movies always had a hint of darkness underlying the chaos seen on-screen. According to the filmmakers, this trend will become more prominent in the final instalment.

Ed Helms (who plays Stu in the films) told us that the movie is “a really nice departure from our formula for ‘One’ and ‘Two’, and getting into something that's kind of darkly grounded.

“It has a little bit of a darker energy to it, which is kind of a fun change of pace, a little bit of a shift.”

Todd Phillips is quick to point out that the film will still feature comedy but maintains that the new movie will have “dark circumstances” about it. 

There’s a new location
Besides returning to Las Vegas, the film will also briefly see the Wolf Pack in Mexico.

“This movie takes place a little bit in L.A., a little bit in Vegas, a little bit in Tijuana, a little bit in between,” says Phillips. “It's not so much a destination movie. There's a little element of a road movie in that they are moving from place to place.”

It brings closure
All the cast and crew agreed that ‘Hangover 3’ will end the series (no matter how much cash it makes). They also teased that something, or someone, from the first movie will help wrap up the series.

Phillips said: “we are making this movie as literally the end of this movie. And that's not to say they'll die at the end, they don't. But this is very much an ending to this chapter of their lives, for sure.”

Bradley Cooper added: “It does feel like closure to the trilogy. An unexpected trilogy. And it brings back elements of the first two that we may have sort of passed over without thinking, you know? It's almost like going back and saying, ‘Oh, this actually meant something, and this meant something.’ There's a really nice full-circle that happens in this one.”

‘The Hangover 3’ will hit cinemas on 23 May 2013.