Even though The Hangover trilogy had diminished returns with each installment, there’s no doubt it kept trying to one-up itself in how many wild and crazy stunts it could pack in. And believe it or not, one scene from the first movie was so shocking to Las Vegas guests that they called the cops during filming.
The Hangover producer Scott Budnick recently appeared on The John Roa Show to talk about criminal justice reform and, of course, his involvement in the 2009 comedy. During their talk, Budnick spoke a bit about the infamous scene where Ken Jeong jumps out of the car naked and how that affected production. Here’s what he said:
It was wild, but I also remember that because it wasn’t supposed to be naked, we ultimately got the cops called on us. Because people that were in Mandalay Bay and other hotels around it kept seeing this naked guy jump out, and called the cops. We had to scramble to make sure that they didn’t see it. It was a wild day. It was a miserable day, and one of the funniest days ever, working on a film.
Wow, that sounds nuts. And Scott Budnick wasn't joking when he said it wasn’t planned. Of course, Ken Jeong played the infamous character Mr. Chow in The Hangover. According to Jeong, he sprung the idea to be nude last minute to director Todd Phillips on set. Phillips agreed and they convinced Bradley Cooper to be the guy a naked Jeong jumps on. That's wild.
From chickens and tigers to babies and a Mike Tyson appearance, The Hangover had scene after scene of bizarre antics that built on each other for great comedic effect. The result was an underdog comedy success story that made two more installments all but inevitable.
While many critics and fans have fond memories of the first installment of The Hangover, its subsequent entries received mostly poor reviews, leading many, including Zach Galifianakis, to wonder if they should have just stopped with one.
But again, due to the heightened popularity of the franchise, Warner Bros. and director Todd Phillips had every intention of continuing. In an interview, Todd Phillips said they were already working on The Hangover Part III while filming Part II, and that there were five different ways it could have gone until they decided on the one that we all got to see.
The Hangover Part III felt like the final nail in the coffin for the franchise since it did unsatisfactorily both critically and at the box office. However, now that time has passed, could we be in for a fourth installment? Ed Helms doesn't think so, saying the chances “are between 0 and 0.” So, sorry The Hangover fans, you'll have to settle for the crazy stunts they pulled in the original trilogy.
