Movie Review: The Hangover

"The Hangover" is definietely funny. Very vulgar, but funny.

The plot of "The Hangover" is very simple: Three buddies (and one tag-along) head to Las Vegas to celebrate the impending marriage of one of their own with a bachelor party weekend. Doug (Justin Bartha), the one getting married, and his friends, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zack Galifianakis) get so incredibly blasted on the night of their arrival that they don’t remember a single thing that happened - of course maximum mayhem ensued during the evening (they wake up in their suite with a mysterious woman leaving the room, a chicken, a tiger in the bathroom, and a baby left behind). They're also missing the groom to be. What follows is a hilarious series of events that makes "The Hangover" step back in time to preview what led up to one of the wildest bachelor parties we will never see.

Therein lies this film's mystery and brilliance. It's a bachelor party movie that doesn't rely on showing the audience the actual party. Instead we lay witness to Phil, Stu and Alan as they struggle to piece together what happened the night before in an attempt to find Doug and all that's left is for us to enjoy the insanity. The audience isn't given flashbacks or time shifts but are stuck with these three characters in real time as they search for their lost friend so we aren't just given a comedy but also a mystery.

Bartha as the groom Doug isn't given much screen time, but his performance is more entertaining than his lackey role in the "National Treasure" movies. Helms (from hit show "The Office") plays a dentist who keeps reminding everyone he is a doctor. He is also dating probably the most controlling woman on the planet and prefers to stay in denial about it.

This film is supposedly the break-out role for Cooper, who plays the a married teacher and the wild jock crazy man of the bunch. He has been in plenty of other films and shows including "Wedding Crashers,"Alias" and "He's Just Not That Into You."

This film is more of a break-out role of Galifiankis, who has been in many comedy films and shows but not one quite as promising as this one. His role is the glue in the film and the major source of comedy. His character Alan, the soon-to-be brother-in-law to Doug, is the odd guy who has terrible social skills and the intelligence of a child (but he is never officially called mentally challenged in the film).
Despite their differences, these three manage (Phil, Stu and Alan) to come together in a way most movies wouldn't even attempt. Alan looks up to Phil as a younger brother would look up to his cool older brother. Phil laughs at Alan's insane statements and never takes to putting him down even though that is exactly where this film could have, and would have, gone in the hands of most directors.

It seems hard to believe, but almost every step of the way "The Hangover" gets it exactly right. From a comedic aspect we watch as the trio try to figure out how one of them lost a tooth, how a baby got in their closet, how a tiger got in their bathroom and why the hotel valet just brought around a cop car. But even more important, along the way we actually begin to care about what happens to them, which is the one piece of this film I wasn't ready for.

Written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and directed by Todd Phillips ("Old School"), "The Hangover" could be taking the title early as the funniest film of the year. There are numerous scenes from start to finish that make you laugh, from a mysterious naked Asian man in a trunk, to a taser demonstration, wedding chapel surprise, gang shootout, an unexpected visit from Mike Tyson and a trip to the desert as our three friends try and piece the clues together to find Doug and figure out just what happened the night before.

This film does earn its R-rating mostly thanks to a montage during the credits of what really did happen during that one crazy night. I won’t give away anything other than to say if you’re offended by sexually explicit material, you’d better leave just as the credits begin to roll.

8.5/10

Sources: Screen Rant, Latino Review, Rope of Silicon