While most of us have never accidentally kidnapped a naked Asian gangster or received an unwanted Mike Tyson-inspired facial tattoo, everybody can relate to the idea of a crazy weekend with friends. You know, the kind of outing that leaves scars, incriminating photos, and stories that will be retold between friends for decades to come. That's one reason why The Hangover and its sequel have become blockbuster hits. They're exaggerated, funnier versions of something most of us have experienced at some point or another. They're relatable. There's one fellow, however, who insists that The Hangover Part II hits just a little too close to home...close enough that he's filed a lawsuit.
According the The Hollywood Reporter, a dude named Michael Alan Rubin is claiming that The Hangover Part II ripped off both his real-life Asian honeymoon vacation and the script he wrote based on that trip. You can click through to THR's story to read the full details, but the gist is this: back in 2007 Rubin got hitched to a Japanese lady, then the pair headed off to Thailand and India for their honeymoon. The trip didn't exactly go as planned, however, because the two soon began fighting over money issues. Trying to make the best of a bad situation, Rubin decided to write a script based on his honeymoon misadventures. That script, entitled Mickey and Kirin, was allegedly filed with the Writers Guild of America. When Rubin eventually heard about The Hangover Part II, he decided there were too many similarities to his script and life, leading him to eventually file a lawsuit.
Granted, none of us have read the script in question, but if the only similarities you can find between The Hangover Part II and Rubin's story are the setting and the vague concept of "bad stuff happens on a wedding trip," well, I'm right there with you. Rubin likely has an uphill battle to prove that he's got a case, and it's probably not going to help that he's purportedly representing himself. Especially because he takes it a step beyond simply crying plagiarism: according to THR he's claiming that specific instances in the film were targeted directly at him with the intent of defaming his character.
It's not the first odd lawsuit that's been leveled at the comedy sequel. Recent months have seen The Hangover Part II lawsuits from both a tattoo artist and Ed Helms' stunt double.
