Hangover 2: a hangover for Thailand?

The movie 'The Hangover 2' is a huge box office success all over the world. Thanks to an overwhelming advertising campaign that preceded the premiere, the proceeds of the second version far exceeded the first volume.

In the first weekend, the film was shown worldwide in 2600 cinemas and movie theaters. There were 2,5 times as many spectators than at the premiere of 'Hangover 1'. The production costs have now been amply recovered. It is already the most successful American film comedy of the entire year.

However, the reviews of 'Hangover 2' are mostly negative: it is a duplication of 'Hangover 1'. Predictable jokes and jokes, little originality and no creativity. On the other hand, there are many people who, after having seen the 'Hangover 1', have now enjoyed the film again.

In Thailand especially in Bangkok, the film, which is mainly set in Bangkok, has been received with mixed feelings. The film is – as said – a huge success and Bangkok gets a lot of attention. However, the discussion is about whether this film is good for the image of the city. The film gives the whole world a one-sided image of Bangkok.

Just like the first film, which takes place in Las Vegas, 'Hangover 2' is also about a bachelor party that got out of hand. This time the protagonists experience a crazy night in Bangkok. Drug trafficking, street robbers, drunk people fighting in bars and brothels. Those are quite a few negative things that come up. Then there's a crazy car chase through the busy streets of Bangkok and a chain-smoking, drug-dealing monkey.

Bangkok is labeled as the 'capital of lust and sin'. The gambling hall Las Vegas from part 1 is a kindergarten compared to Bangkok.

Some Bangkokians have called for a ban on the film on the internet. They refer to the ban on an earlier film 'One night in Bangkok', which takes place on the fringes of Bangkok. Others, who have seen the film, have mixed feelings about it.

“It was funny at times, but it would have been better if it wasn't set in Thailand. One quickly gets the impression that all Thai young women work in bars,” said Pensri Boonkham, a 21-year-old college student, after watching 'Hangover 2.' in an American newspaper.

“It's not the best way to present ourselves to the world like that,” added another viewer, 34-year-old Theerachai Suwan.

Reference is made to the scenes with large cockroaches, a species that does not even exist in Thailand. Several moviegoers wondered why foreign film crews always film in the busiest parts of Bangkok, where elephants and Tuk-Tuks jostle each other and where countless street vendors occupy every corner of the street.

A Thai reviewer, Kong Rithdee, in the Bangkok Post, described 'Hangover II' as “vulgar and silly, cinematically, geographically and culturally”.

Part of the problem is that 'Hangover 2' is at odds with the image Thailand wants to project. Thai prefer to see their own country as a conservative defender of Buddhist values. This is despite Bangkok's international reputation as a city of pleasure.

Thailand is making frantic efforts to attract tourists from the higher segment. These tourists have more to spend and are therefore good for the economy. Expensive advertising campaigns, with a lot of attention for the idyllic sandy beaches and beautiful temples, are used to lure this target group to Thailand.

But of course the 'Hangover 2' storyline comes as no surprise to anyone who has ever visited the Thai capital. The extensive commercial sex industry, with entire neighborhoods full of bars, a gogos, massage parlours, etc., is hard to overlook.

Naturally, smart business people also try to make money from the popularity of this film. T-shirts are sold in markets with an inscription of a famous slogan from the movie “Holla! City of Squalor” while Singha Beer advertises with the slogan: “The Wolfpack's Favorite Six-Pack.”

The Lebua hotels, who appears in several scenes of the film, is now offering a 'Hangovertini' cocktail for 19 dollars. For $2.200 you can have a 'Hangover 2' weekend package in a luxury suite. The three-bedroom 'Hangover Suite' sleeps six and offers a fully stocked minibar and plenty of room to party. “Like the guys from The Hangover”, reads the text in the brochure of the Lebua hotel.

Note: This posting uses text from a recent Wall Street Journal article.