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My thoughts of this film right after seeing it were THE HANGOVER isn’t going to change cinema, but it made me laugh. But boy did it make me laugh. In thinking about reviewing it, I kept thinking of all the things that I had issues with, but they amounted to minor quibbles really. What I kept coming back to was that it made me laugh. So many comedies these days barely elicit a chuckle. And surprisingly, as much as the film goes for the raunchy humor, more times than not, it roots its humor in its characters. And my final verdict on the film came down to them. While they’re broad characterizations, the actors made me believe in them, especially Zach Galifianakis. Thinking about his star-making performance convinced me this is a film I’d want to see again.

Galifianakis (WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS) plays Alan, the dimwitted soon-to-be brother-in-law of Doug (Justin Bartha, NATIONAL TREASURE). They will be accompanying Doug’s two best friends to Las Vegas for Doug’s bachelor party. Phil Wenneck (Bradley Cooper, HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU) is an alpha alpha-male, who is a teacher, but certainly not an Ethics teacher. Stu Price (Ed Helms, TV’s THE OFFICE), for a lack of a better description, is whipped. His girlfriend Melissa (Rachael Harris, TV’s RENO 911!) cheats on him, verbally abuses him, ridicules everything he does, and monitors over his every move, but he keeps coming back for more. Phil and Stu are the kind of opposite friends that would never be friends if Doug weren’t in the picture. This motley crew of partiers ends up having too much fun in Vegas. At the start, Phil makes a call from the desert to Doug’s fiancé Tracy (Sasha Barrese, TV’s LAX) and tells her that they lost Doug and that they’re probably not going to make the wedding.
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Check Out the Trailer

I’ve been kind of dreading my review of this film ever since I saw the film nearly a month ago. I don’t think it completely succeeds; yet I respect so many of the pieces that I’m recommending it. I’ve liked or loved everything that director Sam Mendes has done previously, but with this one he makes some awkward moves. McSweeney’s founder Dave Eggers and his wife writer Vendela Vida wrote the sometimes-too-quirky screenplay, their first original script. It has some great characters, but little conflict. It just goes along. And yet the journey is not regrettable, because I liked whom I met.

Burt Farlander (John Krasinski, TV’s THE OFFICE) and his longtime girlfriend Verona De Tessant (Maya Rudolph, TV’s SNL) are expecting a baby. It wasn’t planned and Verona doesn’t believe in marriage. They live in a shack in the middle of the woods, but have decent jobs. They’re hoping to have Burt’s parents Gloria and Jerry (Catherine O’Hara, BEST IN SHOW, and Jeff Daniels, DUMB AND DUMBER) help out with the baby, but the grandparents surprise them with the news that they are moving to Europe. Without any support where they currently live, they head out on the road to meet with friends and family to see where they want to set down roots.
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