The latest trailer for The Hangover Part III lays out the film’s plot. After Alan goes off his meds, the guys take a road trip to deliver him to a rehab facility. However, they’re hijacked by gangsters on the hunt for Mr. Chow while en route. That leads to a global hunt and probably male nudity.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone writing team of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are directing the sequel/reboot. The story follows Helms as the adult version of Rusty Griswold who embarks on his own bungled vacation. Applegate will play his wife whom THR hints may be growing tired of him. It’s the singing all the time, I bet. Enough with all the singing Ed Helms.

Original stars Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo are rumored to also reprise their characters because they would just find another venue to do so anyway.

Helms can next be seen in The Hangover III and Applegate will appear in the highly-anticipated Anchorman: The Legend Continues. Beyond that, you’ll likely be able to see them appear together in Old Navy commercials thirty years from now.

Thus I’m happy to present the first teaser trailer for this summer’s biggest comedy. Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis,Ed Helms, and some form of exotic animal return to have crazy adventures with Las Vegas gangsters one more time.

Truthiness will descend upon Scranton on October 25th in this season’s Halloween episode. The Colbert Report host will step into the shoes of Andy’s college a cappella rival, Broccoli Rob. The character has been teased over the years and, though several years since Cornell, remains the bane of Andy’s existence. With the show in its final season, it was time to bring in Brocc to help Andy resolve his deep-seated anger issues. Otherwise, it would just be weird that he’s talking about him all of the time and viewers would assume that the two had a bad breakup or something. (EW)

With Lampoon‘s track record, that would normally be cause for an audible groan, but the fact that Ed Helms is in talks to play Clark Griswold’s grown son Rusty in the coming installments gives some hope to the project.

In case it’s not clear, Rusty would be the focus and patriarch of the next installment, after almost 15 years since Chevy Chase regaled us with Vegas Vacation.

Is Randy Quaid going to reprise his role? I heard he’s available!

And check out Jeff Who Lives At Home, starring Ed Helms, Jason Segel, and Susan Sarandon. It hits theaters March 16th.

Oh well. They held out as long as they could.

No plot details are available, but we’ll leave you with this nugget from producer/director Todd Phillips:

“Obviously we always envisioned it as a trilogy. The third would be very much a finale and an ending… I haven’t discussed it with these actors yet. [It would] not follow the same template, but is very much a new idea.”

Obviously. It would be ridiculous and reckless if they had just done the one.

“I hope we’ll start shooting next September. I know (director) Todd Phillips is working on the script. We stuck to the formula in the second one but the third would need to close the trilogy. I think it’ll take place in L.A. and not adhere to the structure.”

I don’t know. Can we believe him that we’ll be entertained in a fresh and original way? The man is an actor after all. He’s paid to make believe. This could just be one huge misdirect tailored to trick us into buying tickets for another chapter. Then again… those eyes. They’re so deep. I feel like I can see into his soul. It’s warm and honest there. (National Ledger)

Well, pretty much anyone can portray Frankenstein. I could get a Golden Globe nod for my performance if the director just gave me three Xanax, a 1″ lift in my right shoe, and a burn on the roof of my mouth with a Bagel Bite just out of the oven. So with the playing field being equal, it comes down to looks.

“What has two thumbs and sort of looks like Frankenstein? These guys!”

Truthfully, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if Trejo was missing a thumb.

9. Matt Dillon

He may be in a tie with #8 for the best-looking guy on this list, but still Frankenstein-esque. He also speaks with a deep enough voice that when I’m watching Wild Things while writing (which is most days), I sometimes get startled and need to look up to reassure myself that Denise Richards and Neve Campbell aren’t having a threeway with Frankenstein, because that would just drive me up the wall with sexiness.

8. David Boreanz

Photo generously on loan from the Penn Collins private collection.

Bones could be Frankenstein. I’m aware that Bones is actually the girl on the show of the same name, but it’s just easier for me if I call everyone on that show Bones, as it prevents me from having to learn anything about the show Bones.

7. Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo looks like he has been stitched together a la Frankenstein, complete with baseball glove-type skin. I don’t think Frankenstein had a tattoo on his chest, but the news of Levy’s attachment doesn’t say when the film is set. 2011 Frankenstein in Williamsburg, Brooklyn could totally have a chest tattoo.

“Frankenstein need pick up American Spirits before Frankenstein go ironic barbecue.”

6 photosKim Lee

Yep, it can. Though Whitmill has worked out a deal to receive money for his copyright, Warners have opted to digitally augment the tattoo before the film is released on home video in December. That means Whitmill can claim against the theatrical release and marketing materials that feature his work, but won’t see a dime of the DVD sales. In silent protest, Whitmill will design a tattoo of Calvin urinating on the WB logo. (THR)

First of all, the film does a great job of handling how the exact same thing happens again. The characters acknowledge it just enough without being all, “Remember the last time we passed out and had to piece back the comic misadventures of the night before?” The only excuse they need is “it’s still funny,” so they don’t dwell on the explanation.

It is nice to see more of the wolf pack’s everyday interaction, including how they’ve coped with the history of Vegas. Phil’s (Bradley Cooper) basically the same but Doug (Justin Bartha) is happily married and Stu (Ed Helms) is now completely overprotective. Alan (Zach Galifianakis) is a definitive personality with his pronunciation of Thailand and random Doogie Howser jokes, and, as destructive as he is, he’s also sweet and protective.

‘Hangover Part II’ Teaser Warms Your Frat Boy Heart

They really build another mystery, even though we’ve already seen Stu’s face tattoo and Alan’s shaved head on the poster. The catch phrases on the poster aren’t spoilers either. “I have a demon in me” comes up in a totally different context than I imagined it would. The script by Scot Armstrong, Craig Mazin and Todd Phillips seamlessly applies the Hangover structure to a new setting. The beauty of it is it could happen anywhere, or with anyone (i.e. franchise.)

This hangover is even more desperate. Stealing Tyson’s tiger is irresponsible, but it’s easy enough to stay out of a wildcat’s path. Thailand is epically seedy and their exploits there have permanent ramifications. They have not given away the most shocking moments in the trailer. You’ve seen one-off gags like hitting the pig with the car, but the actual immoral ones are a surprise. The tattoo artist cameo definitely didn’t need to be a celebrity stunt casting. It works great with just a tough character actor.

6 photosKim Lee

If you want a completely different structure then you’ll be disappointed, but then also it wouldn’t be The Hangover, it would just be some other movie. So it’s a tattoo instead of a tooth and a monkey instead of a baby. Stu’s new song isn’t quite as funny as “Halle Berry in her Catwoman suit” and the photo montage at the end isn’t as shocking, but I’m glad they tried them again. The beauty of sequels is they can try different takes on familiar favorites, and build on what they’ve done before. It becomes tradition and there are plenty of new bits destined to be classics. Alan’s meditation flashback is so right for depicting how Alan sees the world.

Look, it’s not entirely unpredictable but it’s funny. The explanation for their second blackout is a bit disappointing but so far, The Hangover Part II is the only summer movie that lives up to the hype. I want to see another one, but the next blackout shouldn’t happen at a wedding. Maybe Doug’s son’s bar mitzvah, and not just finding another missing person. They should cause an international incident, maybe murder someone. It can turn out in the end that he was a terrorist and they actually saved the day, but take it to the next level. Keep doing it though.

14 photosWarner Bros. Releases Too Many 'Hangover Part II' Stills

“We are very gratified by the Court’s decision which will allow the highly anticipated film, The Hangover Part II to be released on schedule this week around the world. Plaintiff’s failed attempt to enjoin the film in order to try and extract a massive settlement payment from Warner Bros. was highly inappropriate and unwarranted.”

There you have it. If I were that tattoo artist, I’d definitely buy a ticket for something else and sneak into The Hangover Part II this weekend. (Deadline)

“It’s certainly not in the same template that you’ve seen these movies,” Phillips said. “Obviously we always envisioned it as a trilogy as you can imagine. The third would be very much a finale and an ending. The most I could say about it, what’s in my head, and I haven’t discussed it with these actors, is that it is not following that template but very much a new idea.”

14 photosWarner Bros. Releases Too Many 'Hangover Part II' Stills

I don’t expect it to stop at III. You could always do spinoffs. “Listen, I love this world that we’ve created,” Phillips said. “I love every actor in these movies, even all the ones that aren’t here today as well. Who knows, we do a Mr. Chow movie, I haven’t talked to Ken [Jeong] about it but Chow is definitely a man of mystery much like Austin Powers. He obviously has a web that is woven deep in crime and women.”

It doesn’t even have to be connected to this set of characters. You could always throw new comedians into more hangover situations. “Yeah, please tell that to these guys and their agents,” Phillips deflected. “No, I would not see spinning it off like that. I wouldn’t do that.”

With that, Ed Helms jumped in. “We’re just like the kids in the Vacation movies,” Helms said, making reference to the rotating cast of Griswold kids including Anthony Michael Hall and Juliette Lewis in different entries.

The Hangover series has already gone from Las Vegas to Bangkok, so Phillips reiterated his joke about where a third one could be set. “As far as where it takes place, I said I’m very open, like the Olympic committee, to being pitched and presented cities, flown around with wine and women and bribed,” Phillips said. “Then I will make my decision.”

The Hangover Part II opens May 26.

While those executives piece their night together, you can flip through the above gallery, showing highlights from the newly released group of high quality pics from the summer sequel, starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Ken Jeong. The Wolf Pack is back, doing things that are similar to their first outing, but also enough different stuff to warrant your $38.

Directed by Todd Phillips, The Hangover Part II drunkenly stumbles into theaters May 26th. (More images at Collider)

S. Victor Whitmill (kind of a regal name for a tattoo artist, no?) claims that Tyson gave him ownership of the tattoo design, and, consequently, a copyright on the work. Whitmill has the docs to back up that he’s the copyright holder, and has a signed release from Tyson.

So, the question that remains is: Did the studio need to get his permission to use the design on Ed Helm’s face? There are two sets of circumstances that would preclude the studio from having to get Whitmill’s permission. The first is if the tattoo was different enough that they could argue it’s just a coincidence. Not likely. Though the designs are VERY similar, this might have been viable if, uh, Mike Tyson hadn’t appeared in the original The Hangover.

The second one is that if they argued fair use due to parody. I don’t know enough about copyright law to weigh in on whether this holds water, but we will see as we creep up on the film’s Memorial Day weekend release. I’m sure some sort of compromise will be reached. I think dragging Ed Helms out onto Hollywood Blvd. during the premiere and executing him should do the trick. (THR)

Then again, I think killing Ed Helms is the answer to everything.

Anyway, here’s the trailer, which kind of seems like it was put together by someone under the influence of cannabis sativa, in that it’s meandering and sluggish. Hopefully the movie will be a lot better, especially with the cast that it has. Take a look at these names: Lizzy Caplan, Rob Riggle, Ed Helms, Horatio Sanz, and Kyle Gass are just some of the people in this thing. And the movie seems to be largely improvised, so maybe the trailer is a fluke. Third option: That you think the trailer is hilarious and I’m an idiot and/or high right now.

My favorite is the one with Ed Helms, who’s making a tough-to-pin-down facial expression, somewhere between intense fear and resignation. Which one is your favorite? The monkey, probably. I bet it’s the monkey. (Empire)

Neeson’s cameo as a tattoo artist in Bangkok was cut from The Hangover Part II. Director Todd Phillips needed to re-shoot the scene for continuity reasons three weeks ago, but Neeson was in London shooting Clash of the Titans 2: Titan Up. At the last minute, Phillips got Nick Cassavetes to sub-in.

“He came in and crushed it and that is the scene that you will ultimately see in the film,” said Phillips in a recent interview. “[I'm excited for everyone] to see the film. It turned out great.”

The small part has been recast three times. It was going to be played by Mel Gibson, until the cast was like, “he’s… kind of a horrible racist?” So then they cast Neeson, but the above hullabaloo led to Cassavetes nabbing the role. A lot of fuss over a small cameo – hopefully they had time to focus on, y’know, the rest of the movie.

The Hangover Part II drunkenly stumbles into theaters May 26, though the film may not remember it did that on the 27th. (Variety)

Yesterday, the trailer for The Hangover Part II hit the interwebs, and at first glance, the movie looks a lot like the original. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not saying that’s a bad thing. Even if Todd Philips made a scene-for-scene remake, I’d still pay money to see it. But even so, I couldn’t help but notice the glaring similarities. Of course, when you bring back the entire cast of a film, there’s bound to be some overlap, but this goes well beyond that. For example…

Big Wedding – Big Wedding

Both films revolve around a wedding. Not a big deal. In a group of friends, you’re going to have multiple weddings.

Alan Gives a Wacky Toast – Alan Gives a Wacky Toast

OK, I get Alan giving a toast to his friends at a bachelor party, but who the hell would let him speak at the rehearsal dinner? That’s poor planning on Stu’s part.

Missing Guy No One Cares About – Missing Guy No One Cares About

Just like the first film, a character no one cares about goes missing. They might as well have named both of these guys “Mr. MacGuffin.” Honestly, if the groom had died in the first film, it still would have been a hilarious movie.

Stu’s Missing Tooth – Stu’s Facial Tattoo

Poor Stu. First he pulls out his own tooth. Now he’s done gone and got himself a face tattoo!

Tag-Along Baby – Tag-Along Monkey

In the first film, it was funny to see a group of hungover bastards taking care of a baby. In this film, the same can be said for the monkey. As a bonus, there’s always a chance of a monkey attack, which is nice.

Clues In Pockets – Clues In Pockets

In both films, the men must search for clues in their pockets in order to piece together the previous evening. And in both films, wackiness ensues.

Trip to a Chapel – Trip to a Monastery

Church, monastery, whatever. Six of one, a half dozen of the other. After all, Christ is Christ. Am I right?

Baby Jerking It – Monkey Sucking It

In the first film, a baby jerks off. In the second, a monkey sucks off. Sorry the baby picture is of such a low quality, but I didn’t want to run too many searches with the keywords “baby” and “jerkoff.”

Convicted Rapist – Accused Rapist

Mike Tyson was the big surprise cameo in the first film. And while Phillips has denied that Bill Clinton will be appearing in part two, I still think there’s a 50/50 chance.

The new trailer for The Hangover II is here, brah! Check out what craaaaaazy sheeeeet the Wolfpack gets into this fuzzy-headed time around. Bangkok replaces Las Vegas, a monkey replaces the tiger, and an Asian kid replaces Justin Bartha. It feels like this movie might suffer from sequelitis. More of the same but in different ways. At least a valuable lesson is learned from this trailer: When a monkey nibbles on a weenis, it’s funny in any language. From your mouth to God’s ears, Zach.

She’s joining a pretty solid cast that includes Danny DeVito as the titular Lorax, Ed Helms as the Once’ler, Zac Efron as “Ted, the young boy who searched for the Lorax,” Rob Riggle as King O’Hare and Betty White as Grammy Norma. Swift herself will be playing Audrey, Ted’s love interest. Man, I wonder what Dr. Seuss would think of the idea of adding a “love interest” to his stories. He’d probably write a really angry rhyming couplet about it. (via Deadline)

A new still has been released for The Hangover 2 and loses points right off the bat for not featuring that monkey. Though the guys look pretty stressed out. Maybe they lost the monkey? I know I’d be pretty bummed if I lost a monkey that toured with the Stones. That thing is an automatic chick magnet.

One thing we know they won’t be losing this time around is Doug. Justin Bartha tells Empire in the latest print edition, “Doug isn’t lost in this one. There are similar circumstances, but he’s a little bit more involved.”

We’ll have to wait for a full-length trailer to find out exactly what is going on in this film, what role the monkey plays, and where Zach Galifianakis puts his penis this time around. (via The Playlist)

“In the follow-up to the record-breaking hit comedy “The Hangover,” Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) travel to exotic Thailand for Stu’s wedding. After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu is taking no chances and has opted for a safe, subdued pre-wedding brunch. However, things don’t always go as planned. What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in Bangkok can’t even be imagined.”

The always dependable (if slightly cheesy) “Entertainment Tonight” paid a visit to the set, and gave us a glimpse of the kind of insanity we’re in store for when The Hangover 2 opens in theaters May 26th. (Collider)

“I wish I were that,” Helms said during a roundtable interview at the Sundance Film Festival. “I think I wish I gave people more benefit of the doubt. I wish I were less judgmental, so there’s some fantasy fulfillment in doing these characters because I’m a cynical bastard, but I’m sort of a self-loathing cynic.”

Cedar Rapids’ Tim Lippe gives Helms more of a full arc than his supporting characters. “It immediately struck a chord and resonated because it’s just about a guy who’s intrinsically good and desperate to stay good, but so unaware of how the world works. I actually really relate to that. I kind of feel like I stumble through the world just constantly wondering why people act the way they do. Why is this this way? How’d that get there and who made this? So that sort of just wide eyed confusion is something that I actually have and probably just do a better job than Tim of hiding. It’s also just there’s a warmth to it and a hopefulness. I like that. I like putting that energy out there.”

With crack parties and naked swimming pool orgies, Cedar Rapids has lots of crazy comedy shenanigans. Within that Helms thinks there is a real character study.

“I think people bring different things to this movie. To some people it’s kind of ridiculous and cartoonish. To other people it has a reality and a poignancy. I feel like the way the story unfolds, the more you learn about Tim Lippe, the more you understand him and where he came from, the more who he is makes sense. I think it’s really plausible. I really wasn’t interested in this particular movie in making a broad ridiculous character choice. I just think that Tim is, I don’t know, from a storytelling standpoint, it gives us all a chance to see the world in a different way. His naivety complicates things. On the one hand it just looks like a guy goes to Cedar Rapids, gets in over his head and kind of grows up a little bit and comes back a little wiser. It is that but it’s a lot more than that because Tim actually, by just being who he is, has a profound affect on the people around him and he’s not preachy, he doesn’t try to change anyone, but he does because of who he is and I love that. I think it’s a very powerful and subtle storytelling device that [screenwriter] Phil Johnston is a master of.”

Now that Helms has excelled at this sort of character, he might try to go a little darker next time. “I’m kind of open minded. I think that I’ve had a lot of fun playing around in a certain area. I definitely want to go a lot of different directions. Evil is one. Stupid is another. I don’t know, as long as it’s funny, and even with evil characters, I like to think there’s some kind of redemption. If I can find that, I’d be psyched to explore it.”

Cedar Rapids opens Friday.

So says Ed Helms, via Playlist.

The star confirms that Clinton did spend a couple days around the set, but he would “be surprised if there’s [a scene in the movie].” Hardly a categorical denial, but Ed Helms hardly seems like the type of person that would give the public the runaround.

This revelation begs the question, “What was the ex-president doing there, then?” Was he hoping to swap racist jokes with Mel Gibson, who was replaced with the more-PC Liam Neeson? Did he catch Galifiankis fever just like the rest of the country did? Regardless of what he was up to, we can only hope that his appearance on set made will make it into the DVD special features.

With things in America the way they are these days, this country needs to heal. And to do so, we’ll need behind-the-scenes footage of Zach G., Clinton, Mike Tyson, and Bradley Cooper hittin the town together. Just like they do in my dreams.

Cedar Rapids took about a half hour to grow on me, but that may have just been the Sundance fatigue. Once it got going, even a late night screening after an early morning won me over.

Tim Lippe (Ed Helms) is the insurance agent who actually cares about people. BrownStar Insurance sends him to the convention in Cedar Rapids because their former star salesman died of autoerotic asphyxiation. There, he rooms with Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) and Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly), the one man his boss warned him to stay away from.

Ronald talks in acronyms like NTS (Not too shabby). Dean is a raging pussy hound who talks dirty even when he’s being nice. Joan (Anne Heche) is the girl. Early jokes about naked man hugs and corporate scavenger hunts/group bonding activities seemed like quaint types of humor, but it builds. The gang crashes a gay wedding at the hotel and Tim sings a cover of “Oh Holy Night” with insurance lyrics.

Each character really sticks to their roles. Tim is pathetically noble in dealing with the affair he has with Joan. He’s sleeping with his old elementary school teacher Macy (Sigourney Weaver) back home, so he immediately calls to apologize. It’s actually not really an affair, because he was just Macy’s post-divorce fling. Helms babbling like a guilt-ridden adulterer is funny though. Later, he makes taking a bribe sound like rape, in an amusingly inappropriate way.

The group really comes together when they have to rescue Tim from a crack party. It takes Dean’s abrasiveness, Ronald’s mellow planning and Joan’s feisty concern to bring Tim back, and they play off each other beautifully. Scenes that could be lame, like Tim’s coke-fueled party rage, are vehicles for Helms to perform, and we are privileged to watch.

The secret politics of insurance conventions provides a simple comedy plot. In light of BrownStar’s sex scandal, there’s a petition to revoke their previous 2 Diamond Awards. It’s really important that Tim gets his company another award, and he even tries selling out to do it.

Midwesterners going wild may not sound like an original idea for a comedy, but they really become a team. With each character contributing to the wacky, it becomes a unique combination. It’s not just an Ed Helms vehicle. Everybody gets quotable lines and it’s one of the most fun movies of Sundance.