Killer Hangover
Simply put, The Hangover is a crude, crass comedy that manages to be smart at the same time – oh, and funny as hell.
When you start laughing about 30 seconds into a movie, that’s usually a good sign.
I saw the film inside a packed theater and it seemed more like I was at a stand-up comedy show than a movie. I don’t remember the last time a crowd was so into a film. People were laughing so hard they were snorting. I think the old guy sitting next to Ashlie peed his pants.
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. They get so incredibly blasted (thank you jaggermeister) on the night of their arrival that they don’t remember a single thing that happened – of course maximum mayhem ensued during the evening, and they must slowly piece together the night because the groom-to-be has gone missing.
If you’ve ever been to Vegas for a bachelor/bachelorette party I’m thinking you can relate to a bit of the madness. It’s amazing how in Sin City things can truly get away from you…and fast.
The Hangover showcases a great cast of characters – Bradley Cooper as Phil, the handsome, smooth talker of the group, Ed Helms as Stu Price – the dentist who keeps reminding people he’s a doctor, and Zach Galifianakis who steals the movie as Alan, the future brother in law of Doug (Justin Bartha). In addition we have Stu’s insane yuppie girlfriend who ya just wanna punch in the face, Heather Graham plays a gorgeous hooker with a heart of gold, Jeffrey Tambor (Pop-Pop in the attic from Arrested Development) adds a few laughs as the future father-in-law and Ken Jeong is hilarious as “Mr. Chow.”
Yes, Jeong was priceless as the Asian gangster, absolutely hysterical – but the stand out performance had to be Zach Galifianakis as the “not quite all there” member of the troupe. He plays the role as almost mildly retarded, and the lines he delivers and the way he says them are probably on their own enough to make you want to see the movie again. (“Who Let The Dogs Out, doot doot doot”)
There are great bits throughout the entire film, and while some may feel it bogs down for a bit about 3/4 of the way through, it regains its footing soon enough to wrap up with a really great ending.
I loved how they handled the backtracking to figure out just what happened the night before – they didn’t resort to flashbacks or fancy back and forward time-jumps… we just hung with the guys real-time and discovered the pieces to the puzzle along with them. So not only do we have great comedy, as a bonus we get a mystery to unravel as well.
I think it goes without saying but for the love of God leave the kids at HOME for this one. If you can’t afford a babysitter this week, save a couple of bucks a day and wait until next week to see it.
This movie, more than any other comedy I’ve seen since Clerks 2, truly earns its ‘R’ Rating.
Trust me, if you are easily offended by rude crude comedy, by all means stay home, (Allison, I’m looking your way) but if you can handle it, The Hangover is not to be missed.
Some of the most extreme scenes in the movie actually don’t appear until the credits are rolling. 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.
Another great point, for once the funniest parts of a great comedy were not ruined by being shown in the trailor. The best parts are inside. Believe me, you don’t know what you’re in for.
I wanna go to Vegas!!!!!!!!!
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btw, Will Ferell’s Land of the Lost also opened this weekend. Some of you may recall a few weeks back when I did my Summer Movie Preview I predicted Ferell’s film would be the biggest turd of the summer.
Was I right? Find out by CLICKING HERE
June 8, 2009 at 11:39 am
Yeah, I heard us “church folks” should stay home.