Very Bad Trip

I remember seeing the trailer for "The Hangover" a few months before it's cinematic release and I remember thinking it looked funny, and also that they probably stacked the trailer with all the best parts of the film.

Turns out I was wrong. Way wrong. Todd Phillips is a genius. He has helmed possibly the funniest movie I have ever seen. Literally every scene is funny. There were many occasions I was hurting from laughing so hard. Me and everyone else in the cinema the three times I saw it.

Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha and Zach Galifianakis (who steals every scene he is in) are brilliant as The Wolf Pack Stu, Phil, Doug and Alan. Ken Jeong is instantly memorable as Mr Chow and who doesn't love Heather Graham? Mike Tyson's cameo is amazing. Rob Riggle's bit part is also fantastic.

A wickedly funny script by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore tells the story of a Las Vegas Bucks Night From Hell.

Just brilliant stuff. Just as funny now as it was fourteen years ago.

Hangover, The (2009)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Four buddies head off to Vegas for a bachelor party but the next morning they wake up not knowing what happened the night before and discovering one is missing. They must then try to retrace their steps and locate the missing buddy. I'm always a bit hesitant to fall into the mass market when it comes to something popular because a lot of times I end up watching the film and it turns out to be a major disappointment but that's not the case with this gem because it lived up to its reputation and in my opinion passed them. I'm not going to call this the greatest film of the year but I might add it's the most original. You'd think a comedy about getting messed up in Vegas would be "been there, done that" but this takes a familiar set up and does something original with it. Instead of showing us the crazy party night, we don't see a second of it and instead we're thrown into a mystery and the laughs come from trying to figure out that mystery. For my money the screenplay is nearly flawless as it does a great job at building up our thoughts on what happened but the film then takes us to places that you certainly won't see coming. The majority of the laughs come from things that you normally wouldn't expect like a masterful scene involving a trunk. Even the jokes that you do expect (strippers) is done extremely well and with hilarious results. I won't ruin many of the jokes because of the "mystery" behind them is what makes them work so well but there were several scenes where tears were running down my face from laughing so hard. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis give terrific performances and their chemistry and comic timing with one another helps push the film even further. The three make for an excellent team and watching this film makes it look like the trio had been working together for years because they come off so well together. Heather Graham isn't too bad in her role and the great Jeffrey Tambor even gets a nice laugh. You really have to respect a movie that takes a familiar plot and mixes it up to the point of it being completely original and most importantly, downright hilarious. I hate labeling films when they're so fresh but I would be shocked if this movie isn't looked at in ten years the same way we look at "dirty" comedies like NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE and PORKY'S today.

I can not remind myself that I've laughed this much for a long time. Everything from start to finish offers a wonderful blend of humor, so I think everyone will find something they like in this movie. It's hard not to find a favorite character because all the characters have so many things to offer.

After seeing this movie for the third time, I think it has exactly the same charm as the first time. I will probably look at it many more times in the future and that says a lot about the movie. I recommend it to anyone who has not seen it and if it's been a long time since you saw it, watch it again! It's worth it.

Sometimes the title of a film can sell itself, or at the very least pique a viewer's interest. Director Todd Phillip's new comedy The Hangover does this and more by introducing an infinitely relatable premise and infusing it with a clever story to keeps the gimmick supported for the duration. While providing the requisite raunch, stupidity and laughs, The Hangover is bolstered more by its puzzle piece narrative then by straight up humour. The mark of a good comedy is one that can keep your interest in between the laughs; be it by human drama, character development or in this case, a meandering riddle.

What do we really know about a hangover? We know we have one, and we know we drank too much. Often everything before, after and in-between can be a blur at best, and for three friends, Phil, Stu and Alan they certainly got the worst. Travelling to Las Vegas for a night of sin, gin and wins to celebrate their friend Doug's (Justin Bartha) bachelor party they awaken the next morning to find their hotel room a tad dishevelled, a tiger in their bathroom, their memories wiped clean and their groom to be MIA. Playing the three worried bros respectively are Bradley Cooper as the bored-with-his-life school teacher, Ed Helms as the neurotic dentist and Zach Galifanakis as the awkward weirdo and soon to be brother in law of Doug. So unfolds the mystery; trying to find their missing friend before the wedding by piecing together the clues of their epic night out.

For me the standout of the group was certainly Ed Helms. He plays the role straight, he is likable and he is funny. His characters arc is the most complete and entertaining and he certainly grounds his wilder counterparts nicely. The other players are certainly funny, yet the characters of Phil and Alan are not fully likable. Cooper's Phil is a bit of a prick and Alan is flat out creepy. That aside the actors put forward such commendable efforts all is soon forgotten and the quick pace and continual humour keeps things fast, fun and frantic.

As promised by the trailers, we get a cameo from the Mike Tyson who is funnier for being himself then for his actual performance, darting in an out with a great supporting performance is heather Graham as an escort and Mike Epps makes good use of his time as quote 'Black Doug'. More hilarious yet is a closing cover for rapper 50 Cents' Candy Shop which is as inspired as it is hilarious. The Hangover is certainly one of those comedies that is re-watchable, and likely to improve with repeat viewings. However it is probably a good thing actual hangovers are not this much fun; I'd rather die of laughter then alcohol poisoning.

Read all my reviews at simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com

Most great comedies are based on fundamental truths -- we find a deal of humour in the illumination of our own human tragedy. Office Space is funny, for example, because we've all worked that type of job, put up with that type of boss, and suffered that type of monotonous everyday boredom.

Todd Phillips' new movie, The Hangover, is as aptly titled as anything else released this year: it's about a Vegas bachelor party gone horribly awry, in which the groom inexplicably disappears, no one can remember a damned thing, and Mike Tyson wants his tiger back.

Yes, we've all had those nights, though perhaps not to such extremes (that's where the exaggeration of comedy serves us). The Hangover is funny because it takes this cultural ritual -- an American tradition; something almost all of us can relate to -- and finds genuine humour in the pain of its aftermath.

I concede that bachelor party movies are not in short supply; the genre (if it is, indeed, a genre) should have probably both begun and ended with the Tom Hanks flick almost three decades ago. But The Hangover wisely studies the day after rather than the day itself; this is funnier because the plot works backwards, without tacky flashbacks, and much of the evening in question is left to our imagination.

While it would be misleading to claim this is a brilliant film (in either regard – as comedy or character study), it's an assured picture that finds its footing immediately and achieves a surprising level of sustenance throughout its running time. And frankly, let's be honest, this is a breath of fresh air: it's one of the best R-rated comedies of the decade, and certainly the most uproarious since Superbad was released two years ago. Most R-rated comedies produced today are defiant; the R-rating has become a hindrance to film studios' sensibilities – everything is PG-13, saving the shameless Unrated schpeel for the DVD cut. The occasional theatrically-released R-rated comedy, as such, is infrequently modest; the ads stress the rating to remind us what we've been missing. For every legitimate offer, such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, we're treated to movies like College that attempt to lure us into theaters based on the promise of raunchy decadence. The problem is that it's all so coldly calculated; these films are not funny because a majority of the time they are simply lazy and dishonest.

The simplest reason for The Hangover's success in being genuinely funny is the fact that it achieves a rare balance of character and vulgarity. We laugh at the characters' misfortunes because we like them, we empathize with them, and they are distinctly actualized. Are they stereotypical? To a certain degree, sure: we have the repressed pussy-whipped guy who obeys his girlfriend's every command (Ed Helms); the weird John Belushi-esquire figure who speaks in non sequiturs and naïve absurdities (Zach Galifianakis); and the womanizer whose confidence renders him automatic leader of the group (Bradley Cooper). It's a testament to the strengths of these actors that they make their characters endearing and believable, even in the face of total lunacy.

Helms has been an underrated highlight of the American Office for the past several years, never quite earning the praise he deserves. His character on the show is played with pitch-perfect perversity: he's not overtly creepy (like the program's other weirdo, Creed), but rather subtly unnerving. Helms invests a great deal of nuance into what is ostensibly a throwaway, supporting goofball; this movie, if nothing else, will justly reveal his talents.

Cooper uses his looks to his advantage: it's funny to watch handsome people exploit their securities. Cooper essentially turns your typical Leading Man figure into a bumbling idiot, self-absorbed and clueless. It's effective, he's got great chemistry with the other guys, and it's fun to watch such an immoral and ruthless character take center stage in a mainstream comedy.

Galifianakis, a cult comedian who I've admired for years, has been struggling quite a while. Not many people other than myself and Sean Penn saw his 2001 comedy Out Cold, probably because it wasn't all that great; but he was easily the most amusing aspect of the picture. He once described himself as being gifted by the opposite of the Midas touch, with more than a few canceled TV shows to his credit (including Comedy Central's unheralded Dog Bites Man), but it seems his persistence has finally paid off: he has discovered, at last, a movie of strong enough quality to reflect his talents. Galifianakis has a fair share of the film's funniest dialogue; as far as fat funny guys go, many of them (such as Chris Farley) made the ill-fated mistake of playing dumb in a sharp fashion: hurtful quips and silly one-liners, all self-aware. Galifianakis plays his character straight and the laughs are subsequently heartier; when he embraces his brother-in-law while nude, the act seems innocently awkward rather than deliberately awkward, and that's what makes it so funny. He's described in The Hangover, by another character, as a child with a beard. Imagine how funny it is when he names a Caucasian baby Carlos, without any shred of condescension or knowing humour.

The Hangover is surely destined to become the sleeper comedy hit of 2009, and, more likely, a cult flick in the years to come. It's more deserving of such acknowledgment than many recent successes, and while we may live in an era saturated with unnecessary sequels, I actually left The Hangover hoping to see these guys again. And that's a rare feeling these days.