The Hangover Movie Review: Surprise Summer Hit
Under the Radar Summer Comedy Packs Laughs, Huge Box Office Punch
Jun 17, 2009
The Hangover knocked off Disney/Pixar's incredible Up out of the top box office spot and squashed Will Ferrell's competing comedy Land of the Lost in the process. Similar to the 2007 Judd Apatow hit Knocked Up, The Hangover doesn't feature any big name stars and still smashed through the summer blockbuster season with one of the strongest opening weekends ever for a comedic film.
The Hangover Plot
Doug Billings (Justin Bartha) heads to Las Vegas for a bachelor party with his three groomsmen, Ed Helms (of The Office), Bradley Cooper (Wedding Crashers), and Zach Galifianakis (What Happens in Vegas). The groomsmen wake the next morning to a demolished hotel room, no memory of what happened the night before, and worst of all, no Doug.
The guys spend all day piecing together remnants of what happened on the crazy night before and searching for the lost groom. Along the way, bizarre situations come at them fast and furious, and the groomsmen are thrown head first into the most unusual circumstances, many of them effects of the night that they just don't remember.
The Hangover Cast
The actors all have a nice chemistry with each other, including supporting actors such as Heather Graham, the underrated Jeffrey Tambor, and the hilariously shameless Ken Jeong. Jeong has a particularly memorable part, much as he did in 2008's Role Models. He threatens to steal every scene he's in.
But this movie belongs to the three guys who spend the day searching for their lost pal. Helms plays dentist Stu and is alternately awkward and charmingly naive, delivering every line with his trademark innocent dork spiel. It works well. Bradley Cooper elevates his Hollywood standing with a charismatic turn as Phil Wenneck, one of those guys that everyone knows, a self serving jerk who also happens to be fiercely loyal.
The real revelation of the movie is Gilifianakis. He plays Alan Garner, a deranged loon who is prone to saying and doing just about anything at any time. His delivery is note perfect. He's the highlight in a film full of great comedic performances.
The Hangover Verdict
The Hangover has a few moments of predictability, but never loses the fresh edge. The jokes are funny, the situations vary from strange to outright wild, and the movie's pace is relentless from start to finish (stay for the credits).
The envelope is continuously pushed, and both cast and director Todd Philips are up to the challenge. Great script, loads of chuckle inducing one liners, and personable actors make The Hangover a masterpiece of the subgenre. In short, everything pretty much works, and it's all very funny.
