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The Hangover
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach
Galifiankis, Justin Bartha, Mike Tyson
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Produced
by:
Todd Phillips, Dan Goldberg
Written
by:
Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Distributor: Warner Bros. |
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Todd
Phillips’ The Hangover is a straightforward comedy and,
as such, it doesn’t really need reviewing, but I’ll proceed
anyway. If you thought the trailers were funny, you’ll probably
like the movie. If it’s a laugh-count you want from me, here are
the facts: I audibly chuckled 12 times and smiled several more,
but was never confronted with a big belly laugh extending for
over 10 seconds. Given I maintained this mental tally during
The Hangover and have discussed the movie in such calculated
terms, it should come as no surprise when I tell you I wouldn’t
have been angry had the projector conked out halfway through.
But I didn’t object to anything in the film, other than perhaps
its gleeful depiction of the consequences of drug-use. (Then
again, showing the consequences period makes it more enlightened
than the usual fare, right?) For me, this is a classic “HBO
movie” – amusing when boredom strikes in the middle of the
night, but otherwise nothing special. Others’ funny -bones may
disagree, and in this case I’m perfectly fine with that because,
I reiterate, there was nothing in The Hangover I patently
disliked.
The premise
is simple. Doug Billings (Justin Bartha) is about to be married
and he and friends Phil Wenneck (Bradley Cooper) and Stu Price
(Ed Helms) and brother-in-law Alan Garner (Zach Galifiankis)
head to Las Vegas for his bachelor party. (I’ve used their full
names to echo a point Roger Ebert made about the Justin Long
character in Drag Me To Hell: why do these guys need last
names at all?) But before the night kicks into full gear, the
film cuts to the next morning. Doug’s groomsmen wake up in their
Caesar's Palace suite, only to find the place completely
trashed, with a tiger roaming around and a baby in the closet.
They’re too hung-over to remember anything that happened, let
alone where Doug is. Desperate to find him so they can get him
back to L.A. in time for the wedding, they begin a journey that
leads them to confront a singing Mike Tyson, find a pissed off
Asian man trained in martial arts (Ken Jeong) in the trunk of
the police car they stole, and meet a ditzy stripper (Heather
Graham) who might have married one of them.
The set-up
lends itself well to laughs, but somehow The Hangover
seems less funny because of this. It’s pretty easy to write
wacky jokes and situations involving a group of thirtysomethings
who get thrashed out of their minds. This is especially true
when The Hangover goes for complete broke: sure, Mike
Tyson’s presence is funny, but when would it not be funny
to put the former boxer in a substantive role that begins with
him belting out a Phil Collins song? The same goes for the
outrageous images in the end-credits. Leaving the film, I felt
like I personally could have made an equally humorous product
out of the story, and for me that cheapened the laughs I had.
But others will take the film for what it is and enjoy it
thoroughly, and once again I’ll make it clear that I’m not here
to stop them. The Hangover features the kind of comedy
that’s subjective enough for there to be some range of viewer
opinions, but its construction—from pacing to
character-development—is solid enough that one couldn’t argue
that it’s terrible
Beyond the
written gags, the viewer’s opinion on The Hangover will
depend heavily on their response to each performance, as is the
case with any comedy. For me, Zach Galifiankis is the only member
of the cast who really excels. He nails the spacey
brother-in-law-to-be with a questionable past, providing just
the right amount of awkwardness and offbeat acuteness to make
the character fascinating in his absurdity. Cooper and Helms, on
the other hand, are unmemorable. The former actor gives a
performance that’s so generic he practically blends in with the
Vegas scenery and the latter basically plays his most recognized
role (Andy Bernhard from TV’s “The Office”) minus the
self-absorbed edge. One out of three is not a desirable ratio.
But, hey, the supporters often pick up the slack: Tyson, Graham,
and Jeong all boast their own respective laughs. This sense of
variety, for me, sums up what The Hangover is ultimately
about: intermittent, episodic amusements fleshing out a
reliable, but not earth-shattering concept. In a bleak economic
climate, it’s no wonder why droves of Americans have already
flocked to theaters to enjoy the picture’s sheer exuberance.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 6.13.2009
Screened on:
6.5.2009 at the Reading Carmel
Mountain 12 in San Diego, CA.
The Hangover is rated R and runs 100
minutes.
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