The Hangover

Most of us have had this experience: You wake up in a room, not completely sure where you are at first. Your head is pounding. You attempt to recreate in your mind exactly what happened last night, but you can only get bits and pieces. You have no clue what you might have done. You have to ask your friends what happened, and you begin piecing it together based on their vague memories of the night. You begin to find out you did some things that are a shock to you. The Hangover takes this familiar experience, and takes it to a whole new level.

The Hangover is a story of four guys we all know, and it likely resembles our group of friends. There's Phil (Bradley Cooper), the one who just wants to have a good time no matter what. There's Alan (Zach Galifianakis), the fat lazy one who is also a bit slow, and you are not sure why you are friends with him. Stu (Ed Helms) has a controlling girlfriend and pretends he is happy, but is actually miserable. Finally there's Doug (Justin Bartha), the "normal" one.

The Hangover takes these four familiar people, and puts them into a nightmarish situation that would give Deliverance a run for its money. Doug is getting married to Tracy, and is heading to Vegas with his group of friends (well, Alan is just his fiance's brother) for his bachelor party. The four men take shots of Jagermeister on the roof, and the next thing they know, they wake up the next morning in their hotel room. The room is trashed. There is a chicken walking around. There's a smoking hole in the chair. Stu is missing a tooth. There is an unknown baby. There's a tiger in the bathroom. Phil had been in the hospital. And last but not least, Doug is missing.

The three remaining men go on a frantic search to find Doug. They begin to piece together the night, based on the account from a doctor at the hospital, a man who owns a wedding chapel (where Stu married a stripper named Jade), Mike Tyson's security tapes (from when the four men stole his tiger), a run-in with Chinese mobsters, and various other misadventures.

If all of what I have just written does not sound funny to you, then you have no sense of humor. The Hangover is an incredibly funny movie, from start to finish. The humor is often raunchy and shocking, but very clever at the same time. Even though the situations are completely ridiculous, they might not be that impossibly far-fetched based on our own experiences. The audience can completely identify with the characters, and legitimately care about them. The movie absolutely would not work if it did not feel somewhat familiar.

Director Todd Phillips is back in a big way after falling off the map for awhile following Old School, and this is certainly his best work to date. Bradley Cooper has a definite breakout performance, finally getting a shot as a leading character. Cooper has all the makings of a major star. Ed Helms gets to further display the acting ability that he has shown on television, and fits the character of Stu perfectly. Zach Galifianakis steals the show as Alan. The word "brilliant" rarely applies to a comedic performance, but here it is completely appropriate. Justin Bartha plays a somewhat more serious role than usual, but is still quite funny in parts. The supporting cast is strong, as Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Jeffrey Tambor and others all have great moments.

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding The Hangover, and it completely lives up to it. It is a movie that takes a brilliant idea and uses it to its fullest potential. The cast is strong from top to bottom, and the actors all create fantastic characters. If only there were more comedies of this caliber. If you are not easily offended or grossed out, then you absolutely must see this movie. If you are, then I am afraid you are missing out.

Rating: 9/10

Coming soon: Reviews of "Drag Me to Hell" and "Up".