With scenes of drunken sex in sleazy strip clubs and raucous bar fights , you might think Thai tourism bosses are worried The Hangover Part II will be bad for business.
But the only surprising thing about reaction to the worldwide box-office hit in Thailand, where it is set, seems to be that nobody seems very, well, surprised.
“After seeing the movie... Ummm.. This is how foreigners see Bangkok... it’s so true!” according to a post on Thailand’s biggest web discussion board Pantip.com which summed up the general feeling .
The production, the sequel to a 2009 blockbuster which made stars of comedian Zach Galifianakis and actor Bradley Cooper, follows a group of friends on a drunken bachelor night out through Bangkok.
The governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand is confident viewers will realise the film paints an exaggerated – if not wholly inaccurate – picture of a city famed worldwide for its wild nightlife.
“Nobody wants to see the negative side of their country, but we have to admit that it is true,” Suraphon Svetasreni told AFP.
The film is not all about rolling around in the gutter – it also features scenes in the stunning seaside setting of Krabi on Thailand’s Andaman Coast, as well as roof-top bars in Bangkok and boat rides along the Chao Phraya River.
“I think this movie might be good for Thailand. It may help draw more tourists to Thailand after they saw those beautiful scenes in Krabi,” said Suraphon.
But the city’s red-light districts – where scantily-clad girls dance on stage and touts compete to lure visitors into shows involving bananas – are firmly on the tourist trail.
“Obviously the film looks mostly at the dark side of Bangkok, but pretty much everything portrayed does happen here, so in a sense it’s not inaccurate,” said Joe Cummings, author of the Thai edition of the Lonely Planet guidebook.
Some tour groups are already offering Hangover II tours including a boat trip along the Chao Phraya River as well as the temple and sky bar featured in the film, rounded off with a visit to a strip club.
An optional extra is to walk a tiger like boxer Mike Tyson, who had a cameo role in the production.