It could have been weak, with sophomoric humor and crude jokes. That’s what I was expecting. And although The Hangover wasn’t the most intelligent comedy I’ve ever seen, it had a lot more plot than I expected and was a lot more entertaining to boot.
Four guys plan a bachelor party in Vegas: Doug (the groom), Phil, Stu, and Alan. They are played by nobody famous: Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms (maybe the most recognizable from his role as “the Nard dog” in “The Office”), and Zach Galifianakis, respectively. And yet they are all funny in distinct, memorable ways. Things quickly get out of hand, as they are wont to do in Vegas bachelor celebrations, fueled in no small part by accidental drug use. The film basically starts at the morning after. Doug is missing and the other three try to put the forgotten pieces of the night together to figure out where he might be, as well as to explain some other strange discoveries, like the presence of a tiger in their hotel bathroom and a baby in their closet. Along the way they learn that Stu married a stripper at a Vegas wedding chapel, Mike Tyson is looking for them (to recover the tiger they have apparently stolen from him), a police car is somehow in their possession, and $80,000 of blackjack winnings is missing. Evidently, it was quite a night. If only they could remember any of it.
Director Todd Phillips (Old School) has put together a film that must have been begging to go over the top. He resists, reining it in just right. Okay, some of it – the tiger comes to mind - is a bit over the top. But somehow it all seems strangely believable. It’s not a great film, and, as comedies go, it isn’t the most clever one you’ll come across. But sometimes maybe a film should get points for just being a decent cut above what it otherwise could have devolved in to. The Hangover was entertaining all the way through. And there’s nothing at all wrong with that.
7/10