Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis
Other Actors of Note: Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Rachael Harris, Mike Tyson, Mike Epps, Jeffrey Tambor, Rob Riggle, Matt Walsh, Bryan Callen
Plot: A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him. Taken from www.imdb.com.
Comedy is not a formula. This is why formulaic comedies suck. This is why even really really good formulas that induce laughter 9 times out of 10 still make shitty movies. I'm talking to you Judd Apatow.
When I first saw the trailer for "The Hangover" I said to myself. "Gee, this looks like a formulaic piece of shit." After all, how many movies have used the whole "waking up in Vegas" plotline? Now how many of them are good? And "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" doesn't count before you even say it.
I'm also not a fan of Todd Phillips' past films. "Starsky and Hutch" was pure liquid shit and "Old School" was an hour and a half of wasted potential due in part to shitty performances by Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and a disturbingly prophetic performance by a then-still-funny Will Ferrel. So that's another strike on the record.
I literally only watched this movie because the only alternative was "Land of the Lost."
However, sometimes a good writer and director can spin even the most predictable of tropes into pure solid gold. Last summer's "Tropic Thunder" was a perfect example, and while "The Hangover" isn't quite as fucking amazing as "Tropic Thunder" it's pretty damn close.
So you know the story, four guys go to Las Vegas to celebrate their buddy's bachelor party. The bachelor in question is Doug (Justin Bartha) with his two best friends Stu (Ed Helms) and Phil (Bradley Cooper) and his future brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifiankis). After his future father-in-law (Jeffrey Tambor) hands him the keys to his very nice car and sends them off for a night of fun in Vegas things go predictably wrong and hijinks ensue.
Now the next morning Alan, Stu, and Phil wake up to find out that there's a baby in the closet, Stu is missing a tooth, there's a tiger in the bathroom, oh and Doug is missing. So the three men set out to find out where Doug is, what they did last night, and why they can't remember anything.
Justin Bartha is the lead of the movie despite the fact that he only has about 30 minutes of screen time. Justin's not necesserily a weak lead but he's far from a strong one. I'm more than glad that we don't spend an hour and a half following Bartha around Las Vegas.
Bradley Cooper is billed as the lead of this picture but in reality he's no more the lead then Helms or Galafianakis are. While Cooper's career hasn't been what one would call unsuccesful with films like "Wedding Crashers", "Yes Man", "He's Just Not That Into You", and "The Midnight Meat Train" under his belt. But not since his criminally under-rated (and prematurely cancelled) television show "Kitchen Confidential" has he really had the chance to shine.
Cooper plays that dickish friend who's selfish, crass, and wild. While the role's nothing new to him he ads more depth to it than he has in the past. Phil is a major dick but you get throughout the film that he's still a nice guy. There seems a valid reason that a guy like Phil would have two reasonably decent friends and a wife and child. His growth as a character is predictable but even his crass prickishness comes off as somehow likeable. Think of him as a toned down Randal Graves.
Ed Helms is the straight man of our three stars. Helms is the guy who has to say "Guys, this is a bad idea" once every 10 minutes or else his contract is void. Fortunately he brings something extra to the performance. Stu's reactions to some of the shit that happens are almost as funny as the things themselves and he plays a song mid-movie that, though slightly out of place, doesn't fail to draw laughter.
Of course the real scene stealer of this movie is comedian Zach Galifiankis in one of his rare movie appearances. Alan is a club-kid from the mid-90s that's been forced to realize that the rave scene is over but failed to accept this fact. He's put on some weight and now looks like some kind of pedophile in ultra-tight "trendy" clothes from 10 years ago and carrying a man-purse. Alan is so off-the-wall and bizarre that you just sit waiting in anticipation for the next time he opens his mouth.
Heather Graham is in this movie, this is the first time that I've found Heather Graham funny, attractive, and likeable in a movie. This is a milestone for me. Seriously though, this film could have benefitted from a bit more Heather Graham.
Ken Jeong plays something vaguely resembling a villain in this movie. The man spends his scenes gnawing the scenery like a rabid beaver in a lumber yard, he gets pretty tedious pretty fast but his entrance into the movie remains easily the funniest part of the entire damn film.
You know how above I mentioned how this movie could have easily been formulaic crap. Well it's not good jokes and good acting alone that breaks it free of that horrible bland prison it could've easily been caught up in.
While the movie takes some cliches head on it manages to deftly avoid others. This manner of picking and chosing its predictability is what makes this movie as entertaining as it is. It leaves you not knowing what to expect and even when it does decide to throw a usual trope at you it's still funny.
For example, when it comes time to get Alan's father's nice Mercedes out of impound you know it's going to be trashed. That's how this shit works, Stu even comments on it, but the movie decides to throw these miserable bastards a bone for once. Or when they put the tiger in the back seat of the car, rufied, anyone who's seen "Tommy Boy" knows what's going to happen and indeed it does.
"The Hangover's" habit of picking and choosing cliches begins to make you wonder if the movie will end by them finding Doug's corpse in a ditch somewhere. This literally seemed like a viable option the first time I saw this.
Which leads me to my next point. I've seen this movie twice, I wasn't sure about it the first time and just wanted to see if my enjoyment would hold out after the initial shock had passed. I've come to call this the "Alien vs. Predator" method as the first time I saw that movie in theaters I loved the shit out of it, but upon second viewing I realized I wouldn't even use the DVD for a cheap shiv to stab Robert Pattinson with. Eh, I hear a Taxi and his fans did my job for me.
I am happy to report that this movie's laugh out loud moments are just as funny the second time around. I found myself laughing at all the same cues and even laughing in anticipation of them.
The cast just has such a great onscreen chemistry that you love every moment of it. And even though our three pseudo-protagonists are almost constantly in some form of trouble or danger you just wait with anticipation for the next crazy bullshit to come up.
Let me also say that the combination of Mike Tyson and Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight" make for instant magic.
Now I understand there's been talk of a second movie. I don't know what the fuck it would be about. In fact it sounds like a really bad idea to me. This movie managed to be funny, original while still making good use of old jokes, and redeemed Todd Phillips in my eyes. I really hope to be seeing more of him, and if there is a God, more of Zack Galifiankis very soon.
I give "The Hangover" a 5 out of 5. It's not frowned upon like masturbating in an airplane even after 9/11.
