From KCRW in Santa Monica, this is The Treatment.

Welcome to The Treatment, which you can also hear at KCRW.com.

My guest, writer, director, Todd Phillips, has taken the transgressive and giving

it a space in studio comedy, going all the way back to Road Trip with Tom Green, who we don't

hear from anymore, to due date to his newest film. Let me make sure I got the title right. The Hangover

Part 2. Yes, correct. How are you? How are you? Very good. Thanks for having me back.

But it's funny because that title, you're clearly saying something with the hangover part two.

It's not the hangover to or anything like that.

You're being very specific about that.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, and again, people take this the wrong way always.

But to me, sequels tend to be, particularly comedy

sequels, disappointing. They tend to be remakes rather than sequels. They tend to be remakes,

yeah. It's like you have to remake the experience, not remake the film in a weird way with

sequels. And, you know, I think we did that with The Hangover Part 2, but to be honest, it was

always called The Hangover 2 until we finished the script. And I thought, you know, I think we did that with The Hangover Part 2. But to be honest, it was always called The Hangover 2 until we finish the script.

And I thought, you know, we're really going to make a film that's worthy of the first movie and really holds up to it.

So jokingly, like The Godfather, which is, you know, some argue, Godfather Part 2 is better than the first one.

Would you?

No, I wouldn't actually.

Because?

You know, the same reason I think people with the hangover feel like, you know, we do these test screenings real quick and, you know, I would say 85% of the audience, I think it was 85 or 83%

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