Review of The Hangover (2009) by Ola G — 28 Aug 2014

Celebrating his upcoming marriage, Doug Billings (Justin Bartha) travels with his best friends Phil Wenneck (Bradley Cooper), a high school teacher with a wish to get out of life´s bonds, Stu Price (Ed Helms), a dentist with a highly controlling girlfriend and Tracy's brother and Doug's future brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis), a slightly odd and different person, to Las Vegas in Alan's father's Mercedes-Benz for a bachelor party. They´re staying at the classic Caesars Palace and after their arrival they celebrate with a few drinks on the hotel rooftop. The next morning, Phil, Stu and Alan awaken to find they have no memory of the previous night, and Doug is nowhere to be found. Stu is missing a tooth, their hotel suite is in disarray, a tiger is in their bathroom, a chicken in their living room, and a baby is in the closet, whom they name "Carlos". They find Doug's mattress impaled on a statue outside of their hotel and when they ask for their Mercedes, the valet delivers an LVPD police cruiser. Following clues to their steps, the trio travel to a hospital where they discover they were drugged with rohypnol ("roofies"), causing their memory loss, and that they came to the hospital from a chapel. At the chapel, they learn that Stu married a stripper, Jade (Heather Graham), despite having a long-term relationship with his mean-spirited girlfriend, Melissa (Rachael Harris). Outside the chapel, the trio are attacked by gangsters, saying they are looking for someone. They flee and visit Jade, discovering that she is the mother of the baby, whose real name is Tyler, before being arrested by the police for stealing the police cruiser. After their release while driving the Mercedes, they discover a naked Chinese man in the trunk who attacks them and flees. Alan confesses that he drugged their drinks to ensure they had a good night, thinking the drug to be ecstasy. Despite their indifferences Phil, Stu and Alan needs to find Doug and get back in time for the wedding...

Finally I have seen "The Hangover". I reckon when it came out I sort of sidelined it as it felt just like a classic farty Seth Rogen sort of comedy, which is not really my cup of tea. But, with some friends praising it, I simply had to see it myself and see if I liked it or not. And to be honest, I had some really good laughs during the running time. It´s just perfectly over the top in the humour and the casting of Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis in the main roles is just so spot on and perfect. Michael Sragow of The Baltimore Sun, called the film a "foul mesh of cheap cleverness and vulgarity" and that is true. But, the cheap cleverness and vulgarity is done in a great way that you can´t duck or dive from it as it hits you straight on and it makes you laugh and as well become partly ashamed for the actions you see taking place. Critics noted the weak character development, especially in its female characters, and yes that is correct without no doubt, but then again it is what it is and it is what it should be taken for. Yes, there´s misogyny, stereotyping etc in all sorts of ways, but that´s the point with the movie. Roger Ebert, despite his praise, stated, "I won't go so far as to describe it as a character study", but that the film is more than the sum of its parts - parts that may at first seem a little generic or clichéd." And that is exactly my opinion as well, at the first look it seems to be a clichéd standard comedy, but there´s layers to it and it´s a "different" comedy for sure. And I loved the idea of showing the explicit camera pictures from their night out during the end credits. I will see the second one for sure and even maybe the third one. But, I´m not sure if those parts will top this one in my eyes.