We’ve all been there. We’ve all waken up after a heavy night before with only a vague recollection of what happened the previous night. But then imagine that you can not remember a single thing from the night before. And there’s an unknown baby in the same room. And that there’s a live tiger in the bathroom. This is the scenario which befalls the main characters of The Hangover directed by Old School and Road Trip director Todd Phillips.
The movie follows the escapades of four men on a bachelor party in
Las Vegas, who must retrace their steps to ascertain what happened the night before as they attempt to find the missing groom whose location is unknown after their night of debauchery. During the course of their search they are shot at, tasered, intentionally run off the road by a car and suffer other such predicaments in this funny, quickly-paced comedy. The movie was apparently inspired by real life events of the scriptwriters in
Las Vegas, and that hedonistic oasis must be pleased how this movie beneficially showcases the exploits that may be undertaken in the city of sin.
The three main characters have great chemistry with each other, with their different personalities and styles dovetailing with each other well, and the viewer feels a real affinity with them as they attempt to find their missing companion. Zach Galifianakis, whose name sounds like the specialty dish of my local Greek restaurant, is particularly amusing in his role of Alan as the clown of the movie, playing his part to great effect.
The thread of the movie is similar to the director’s previous work, with the humour distinctly low brow and generally aimed towards a male audience, and some jokes may not be to everyone’s taste. While there is little development of the characters and some of the smaller roles are distinctly two-dimensional based largely on weak stereotyping, this does not detract from the development of the story or enjoyment of the film. There are obvious similarities to the movie Dude, Where’s My Car? and it could be argued that The Hangover is this generations version of that movie, but there are sufficient differences to avoid an accusation of mimicry or large-scale comparison.
Overall, The Hangover is a great easy-viewing movie which will definitely raise some laughs and keep you engaged throughout. While this movie won’t win any awards for originality or script work, the end product is thoroughly enjoyable and I would state it to be one of the best comedy films of the last few years.