Check Out the Trailer

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.

While this is broad comedy for sure, director Todd Phillips (OLD SCHOOL) and writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (FOUR CHRISTMASES) handle the dynamic between the characters with understanding of male relationships. A great deal of the humor and tension simply comes from the clash of Phil and Stu’s personalities. Add in the oddness of Alan and you have the X-factor that makes events even more unhinged. The fact that we care about these characters is a testament to the truth that lies under the potty humor and theatrics. The first rate cast also helps.

Before the fateful call at the start, Phil, Stu and Alan wake up in the penthouse suite at Caesar’s Palace with no memory of the night before. Why they can’t remember is explained plausibly and hilariously later on. The room is wrecked and Doug is missing. But where did the chicken and tiger come from? The mystery of what happened the night before drives the plot, but what occurred is driven by the characters. How the story weaves in a sweet hooker named Jade (Heather Graham, BOOGIE NIGHTS), a naked Chinese gangster named Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong, KNOCKED UP) and Mike Tyson is all part of the fun.

So what were those quibbles? From time to time, the filmmakers go for jokes over plausibility. A scene where the guys quiz an ER doctor is a perfect example. But the cheap laughs are actually few and far between. Also the ending is very conventional with all the bows tied nicely on the groomsmen’s tuxes. But I can’t think of more satisfying way to end the film anyways. You want these lugheads to succeed.

Along with I LOVE YOU, MAN and this film, 2009 is shaping up to be the year of the bromantic comedy. Like the movie itself, what happens in THE HANGOVER is unexpected  — the film takes a simple premise, adds in plausible characters and delivers on real laughs.

PS… stay until the end of the credits’ photomontage for something you’ve never seen in a major R-rated Hollywood release.