Movie Review – The Hangover from Director Todd Phillips
Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis Party Hard
Jun 9, 2009
Many of us have had a crazy evening or two — but very few people have experienced a night out like the main characters in The Hangover. After celebrating their friend’s bachelor party in Las Vegas, Phil, Stu and Alan wake up in their Caesar’s Palace villa with no recollection of the previous night — and no idea where the groom might be.
In order to find their friend Doug, the guys must piece together the previous night from bizarre pieces of evidence in their hotel room — including a baby tiger and a baby human. As they journey around Vegas — from a hospital to a wedding chapel to Mike Tyson’s house — they learn the increasingly insane details of their forgotten adventure, and the fact that the audience only knows as much as the characters makes those details all the more hilarious as they are revealed.
Doug’s Buds
Justin Bartha’s Doug is the least interesting character in the ensemble, so it’s no great loss that he’s missing for most of the film. His three friends, however, are fully drawn, believable characters, so their reactions to their absurd circumstances — and the laughs they generate — are more genuine than in a typical comedy film.
As Phil, the married schoolteacher who encourages his friends to cling to single life while they still can, Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crash) is equal parts charismatic charmer and boorish tool. The Office’s Ed Helms is perfectly cast as Stu, the henpecked dentist who calls himself “doctor” and struggles to please his stringent girlfriend Melissa (Rachel Harris).
The Great Galifianakis
Cooper and Helms may get top billing, but the real star of this film is comedian Zach Galifianakis, who plays the groom’s demented future brother-in-law, Alan, with the perfect amount of believability. He’s a complete weirdo, but you get the sense that he really would ask whether Caesar really lives in Caesar’s Palace or slice his hand open during a toast. No one could have played this part like Galifianakis, and he
generates laughs with almost every line and reaction shot.
What Happens in Vegas
A talented supporting cast portrays the colorful characters that the trio meets during their adventures, and each actor shines in his or her small role. Heather Graham, who has been grating in other films, is delightful as sweet stripper/escort Jade, and Rob Riggle brings his own brand of intense energy to the part of an angry cop.
The only weak link is effeminate gangster Mr. Chow, who falls flat as actor Ken Jeong tries to mine comedy from Asian and gay stereotypes. But overall, this film is laugh-out-loud funny, right up through the end-credits photo montage, which provides more glimpses of the group’s outrageous evening. Go see The Hangover, and make sure you don’t forget it afterwards.
