summer 2011
celebratedliving.com
28
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Alwaysa
bridesmaid
andnever
abride
isperhapsa
phraseactorBradleyCooper related toashis
best-friend/buddy roles in
WeddingCrashers,
He’sJustNotThat IntoYou
, and
Failure to
Launch
peggedhimasoneofHollywood’s
mostpopularsupportingactors.But itwashis
starring role in2009’sblockbustercomedy
The
Hangover
thatplacedhimpermanentlyon
Hollywood’scelestialmap.
At theageof 36,Cooper isat the topofhis
game in thesummer’shighlyanticipatedsequel
witha title that says itall:
TheHangoverPart
II
(WarnerBros.Pictures/LegendaryPictures).
reprisinghis roleasalphamalePhilWen-
neck, he joins the ensemble cast of Zach
Galifianakis, edHelms, and formerworld
heavyweight championmikeTyson (who is
back toplayhimself).Ther-ratedbachelor
comedy (thisGenerationXandY’s
Animal
House
)picksup twoyears later, as the ill-fated
andself-proclaimed“wolf pack” travel foryet
anotherwedding-relatedevent.recalling the
bachelorpartyandsubsequentantics that
wreaked havoc in the original story, the
action this time revolves arounda low-key
pre-weddingbrunch…andyouknowwhat
theysayabout thebest-laidplans.
“Thefilm takes place inBangkokand
definitelyadheres to thestructureof
The
Hangover
,”says thePhiladelphia-bornactor.
“Like the
Bourne Identity
films, noonewants
toseeBourneonapicnichavingwine inNapa
Valley!Thestakesarehigherand,much like
thefilm’s former location inLasVegas,what
happens inBangkokstays inBangkok.”He
alsoadmits that thefilm isdefinitelydarker
comedywise than theoriginal.
manyactorsbase theirportrayal ona real-
life rolemodel, andCooper’sWenneck isno
exception, beingmodeledon thefilm’sdirec-
tor,ToddPhillips.mannerismsweremim-
ickedandbehaviorswerecopied, butCooper
seesnothingofhimself in thecharacter. “It’sa
trendofminebasing theparton thedirector. I
