'MANHOOD' OVERDOSE IN 'THE HANGOVER PART II'

Do more on-screen penises mean selling more tickets?

With the global release of 'The Hangover Part II' today, Warner Bros. are certainly hoping so.

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Given 'Part II' is a sequel to 2009's hilarious 'The Hangover' most of us are pretty sure what to expect from the new instalment. Yes, the film's formula is the same, but film-makers have upped the comedic ante, placing their bets on packing more punches with even more male nudity and lewd behaviour than the last round.

Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, 'The Hangover Part II' is set to show in thousands of cinemas globally (with 3,500 in North America alone). And given the depraved scenarios, omnipresent swear words and abundance of male genitalia flaunted, it's no mean feat.

Watch the trailer for 'The Hangover Part II'
The level of nudity has already disturbed some Hollywood critics and attendees of advanced screenings of the film.

"The amount of penises on screen is at a new level," said a talent manager after seeing it at the world premiere last Thursday. "It's pretty crazy."

While Aussie audiences are slightly more relaxed than their American counterparts about on-screen nudity, the film still carries a new level of shock value.

In the late 1990s, a revival of 'boys' comedy was brought about by the hit, 'There's Something About Mary,' which included an hilarious flash of Ben Stiller's "frank and beans." But despite the resurgence, male genitalia have still been somewhat taboo in mainstream films. Until now.

The last few years have seen comedic films embrace the use of on-screen full-frontal male nudity.

From Naked male wrestling in 2006's 'Borat' (thank you Sacha Baron Cohen), to Jason Segal taking it all off in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' in 2008 and even the glimpses of Ken Jeong's manhood in the first 'Hangover' film have seen film-makers become more comfortable in showing male bodies for comedic effect.

WATCH: See the trailer for 'The Hangover Part II'

PICS: See the film stills from 'The Hangover Part II'

Hollywood-heavyweight Ivan Reitman, executive-producer on boys-club flicks 'Old School' and 'Road Trip,' described it as "a last-frontier thing."

"There's been a long tradition of naked and half naked women in films, so this is a way of upping the ante in terms of erotic explicitness," Reitman continued.

INFO: Find out more about 'The Hangover Part II'

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The vulgar behaviour in 'The Hangover Part II,' including snorting cocaine, strippers performing rude acts with ping pong balls and confusion between the words "demon" and "semen," will come as no surprise to those familiar with the first film. But the film's male nudity has indeed raised the bar for mainstream comedy.

'The Hangover Part II' opens in Australian cinemas today.