VOA标准英语2011--'The Hangover' Sequel Features Same Crud

'The Hangover' Sequel Features Same Crude Humor but New Location

Two years ago, a comedy film about three friends on a spree in Las Vegas became a worldwide hit despite - or perhaps because of - its crude humor. Now they're back together and this time the setting is Bangkok, but the jokes are no less outrageous¹. Here's a look at The Hangover Part II.
STU: "I can't believe this is happening again."
PHIL: "We love to party."
In the first Hangover film, they're in Las Vegas to give their friend a party before his wedding. They're accidentally drugged and awake the next morning in their trashed hotel suite² with no memory of what happened. And their friend, the groom³, is missing. To find him, they have to retrace⁴ their steps and return to the scenes of their debauchery.
In this sequel, they gather again for a wedding, but this time at a luxury resort in Thailand.?
PHIL: "Come have a drink with me and the guys."
GIL: "All right, one drink."
GROUP: "Cheers!"
That friendly beer is all they can remember when they wake hours later in a dilapidated room on the fringes of Bangkok.
Just like the first film, they can not remember a thing about the night that left them in such bad shape. And once again, one of their party is missing.
So off they go to figure out where they had been and what they did in hopes of finding him in time to get back for the wedding.
Director and co-writer Todd Phillips says it's no accident that the plots are so similar.
"The fun part of the first Hangover for me is, obviously the guys are really funny in it and they have chemistry and all that," notes Phillips, "but it's also a mystery and we didn't want to lose that investigative element, because that sort of keeps people leaning forward on their seats and involved in the story. So we made a conscious decision early on to stick with that template and embrace it."
Zach Galifianakis co-stars as socially-challenged Alan who is devoted⁵ to the quiet, reserved dentist Stu, played by Ed Helms. Bradley Cooper is party-loving Phil. Cooper says the sequel gives them more opportunity to develop the characters than they had two years ago.
"You really didn't get to know the characters," says Cooper. "The narrative⁶ was really this mystery - this ticking clock - that took precedence in the first one. I think the difference between that one and this one is this movie is more about the dynamic of the three guys and you really get to know them."
Co-star Ed Helms agrees, calling the characters in the first movie "conventional archetypes."
"When it came time for the second movie, it was very exciting because, to echo what Bradley said, we were able to add dimension to these characters," says Helms. "We had already done the homework. You knew who they were, you knew what the relationships were and there were more layers on these guys that were fun to explore."
PHIL: "Check your pockets. There might be clues."
STU: "Cheng Mai monastery⁷ ...I don't remember any of this."
Audiences remember the surprise cameos in the first film, and The Hangover Part II brings them back, like boxing champion Mike Tyson. This outting doesn't spoil the surprise because the advertising⁸ for the film features a scene of Tyson. Director Phillips says it's a price they paid because of the first film's success. 
"It's nice to make a comedy where you're flying under the radar⁹," Phillips says. "On this movie, obviously, we were not under the radar as a sequel to the biggest R-rated comedy of all time..... That said, I call it an 'uptown' problem. In other words, people are anticipating the movie so much that they want to talk about it on the Internet or on entertainment shows. It's nice to have them talking about it."
Animal rights activists¹⁰ have been talking about scenes of a capuchin monkey chain-smoking cigarettes in The Hangover Part II. But the filmmakers insist the monkey - a screen veteran named Crystal - held an unlit cigarette and the smoke was a special effect added later by computer.

1 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

2 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

3 groom   

vt.给（马、狗等）梳毛，照料，使...整洁

参考例句：

• His father was a groom.他父亲曾是个马夫。
• George was already being groomed for the top job.为承担这份高级工作，乔治已在接受专门的培训。

4 retrace   

v.折回；追溯，探源

参考例句：

• He retraced his steps to the spot where he'd left the case.他折回到他丢下箱子的地方。
• You must retrace your steps.你必须折回原来走过的路。

5 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

6 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

7 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》