The trailer for The Hangover II: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it with a monkey

In deference to its Thailand setting, The Hangover II serves as an illustration of the Buddhist symbol of the endless knot, where we are all bound together in eternally repeating cycles of suffering. Or maybe it’s just that sequels to unlikely comedy blockbusters tend to replicate the formula of their predecessors with only slight deviations, logic be damned, all in an attempt to try capturing lightning in a bottle twice. In that sense, The Hangover II probably puts a greater strain on credulity than any sequel since the last Home Alone, with Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, and Zach Galifianakis’ “Wolf Pack” going through an almost note-for-note rehash of their Las Vegas experience—at one point, Helms’ character actually exclaims, “I can’t believe this is happening again!”—only this time on the seedy streets of Bangkok.