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‘The Hangover Part III’: New Trailer Reveals a Chow-centric Plot and John Goodman as the Villain

The first trailer for "The Hangover Part III," which came out a mere two and a half months before the film's theatrical release, hinted at an even darker film than "The Hangover Part II" as the by-now-should-know-better Wolf Pack -- Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Stu (Ed Helms) -- embarks on one final misadventure fueled by copious alcohol consumption and outrageous law-breaking.

Now, we have the second trailer for the final "Hangover" (final, yes, as the advertising campaign has been proclaiming "It Ends," a la "Harry Potter"). And yes, it presents a film that looks rather mean-spirited but it also looks like it actually has a plot ... and, even better, it has John Goodman.

Check out the trailer below:

The trailer quickly sets up the premise: Alan's dad has just died and he's off his meds, which causes him to dig his father's grave in the cemetery himself (sans shirt, of course). His friends intervene and encourage him to take time out at a medical facility called New Horizons, and while en route, the Wolf Pack is run off the road by Goodman, who demands they track down Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong), who somehow managed to steal $21 million from him.

The fact that Goodman takes Doug (Justin Bartha) -- who never gets to participate in any of the "fun" in these movies -- as his hostage makes for one of the funniest jokes in a trailer that emphasizes danger and even despair more than comedy.

From there, the gang is off to Tijuana (you can get a hell of a hangover on tequila, you know), where they find Chow indulging in cockfighting and other acts of hedonism. This new adventure will apparently make for better psychotherapy for Alan than what any hospital could provide, as he suddenly comes to existential realizations such as "We can't be friends any more ... when we get together bad things happen and people get hurt." Chow, ever the walking, babbling lack of the series' moral center, responds with, "Yeah, that's the point -- it's funny!"

Yeah, sometimes it is. Unfortunately, though, Goodman is distinctly missing from the second half of the trailer, which makes us hope that his role is more than just a glorified cameo that bookends the mayhem. We do get a brief flash of "Hangover" alum Heather Graham, reprising her role as Jade, and "Bridesmaids" MVP Melissa McCarthy gets down n' seedy as the owner of a pawn shop who insults her mother in front of customers.

Anyway, let's hope the boys finally find peace after this third and final go-round ... their livers will thank them for it, if not Warner Bros.' bank account.

"The Hangover Part III" opens in theaters on May 24.