The Wolfpack is back?
Yup, this is the sequel to the 2009 box-office hit.
More of the same?
Very much so. The four amigos have flown to a resort in Thailand for dentist Stu’s wedding to his Thai bride (played by a Korean-American, in fact). After last time in Vegas, Stu doesn’t want a stag do but reluctantly agrees to a quiet nightcap on the beach with two of the guys (Phil and Alan) and his fiancée’s brother, Teddy, before heading back to his room for an early one.
Very sensible. I’m guessing that doesn’t work out?
Not at all. From there, the format is more or less the same as the first movie: a ticking clock, a missed night, a missing person and a woman who is waiting to get married.
Original.
Critics hated it for just that reason it scored a 34% approval on review-aggregator Rotten Tomatoes yet that seems a bit harsh. The original movie’s structure is what made it such a hit, so it seems sensible for the sequel to follow it. However, the director reckons that the third and final movie, if it gets made, will go in a new direction.
So how does it all go wrong?
The guys wake up in Bangkok. Alan’s head is shaved, Stu has a Mike Tyson tattoo on his face and Teddy is missing (except for his finger, which they find in the room). They’ve also acquired a chain-smoking capuchin monkey. Nobody remembers anything after sitting down on the beach.
Red bull and Thai rum will do that.
Interesting fact: Thai Beverages sells more rum in Thailand than Bacardi sells globally.
No wonder they call it the Land of Smiles...
Indeed.
So, getting back to the movie, the guys now have to find Teddy?
Yup. Vietnamese gangster Chow, from the first movie, appears from under some bedsheets and starts to shed light on the night’s events, but dies from a heart attack after an ill-judged line of cocaine.
Doug then calls from the hotel and explains that Teddy is in jail, but Teddy has become a Buddhist monk in a wheelchair. It turns out they kidnapped him the day before, but any hopes of help from him are dashed when they find out he’s taken a vow of silence.
And much hilarity ensues?
Oh yes. The guys follow a trail of destruction, tangle with gangsters, come to terms with ladyboy shame and ultimately reunite with their lost buddy.
That’s a lot of work on a hangover.
They seem to cope with it much better than I do — except for Chow.
Is there something for our readers to learn?
Nope. There isn’t a single male banker in Asia who hasn’t already had such a night in Bangkok, so it’s more of a chance to reminisce and spot some familiar sights.
Anything interesting?
The short speedboat ride from Bangkok to the Phulay Bay Ritz-Carlton in Krabi is certainly interesting. They must have used a little-known canal. The movie also features a theme park called Ancient City, which doubles as the fictional Ching Mei monastery. There are a few scenes around the city, including one in Chinatown and a nice helicopter shot of the Sky Bar at Sirocco, on Silom Road.
That all sounds a bit tame.
There are, needless to say, a few scenes in Bangkok’s sleazier side-streets, but the bar fronts were mostly remodelled for the movie and only die-hards would recognise Soi Cowboy or Soi 7/1.
Shame on you.
A colleague told me.
This story was first published in the June 2011 issue of FinanceAsia magazine
