The Hangover (2009)

I didn’t expect much from The Hangover.  Of course the premise, about three guys who wake up after a crazy Las Vegas bachelor party with no memory of the prior night yet must find the missing groom in time for his wedding, had lots of potential to be hilarious.  It’s just that most the time Hollywood misses the mark with mainstream comedy.  I’m sorry, but Knocked Up and Wedding Crashers were about as funny as used toilet paper (maybe not even).  However, I was greatly surprised by The Hangover.

Todd Phillips is a director I would usually associate with bad Hollywood mainstream comedy, with the exception of Old School.  Now he can add another good film to his resume.  This movie gets a lot of laughs out of how bad one bachelor party can go.  And luckily, this party was uniquely outrageous.  The three main characters (played by Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis) wake up to find their apartment thoroughly destroyed, a tiger in the bathroom, and a baby of unknown origin in the closet.  One of their crew, the groom (Justin Bartha), is missing.  They have very little time to find him before the wedding starts back in LA.  Of course as they discover clues, they discover more evidence of a seriously debauched night, which range from learning they are now in possession of a cop car to finding a naked Asian man in the trunk of the car they arrived to Las Vegas in.

Plot doesn’t really matter in this movie, it’s the laughs, which is how it should be for a comedy.  This movie has no stupid last half hour that turns dramatic.  The cast works well together, with possibly the exception of Justin Bartha even though he was barely in the movie.  He seemed boring and not funny at all; I was happy he was missing.  Supporting cast (like Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, and Mike Epps) all do an adequate job with their roles.

All in all, The Hangover is actually one of the best comedies of the year, if for no other reason than it wants nothing else but to be funny.

The Hangover:   B+