Film Reviews

~ The Hangover ~

After regaining consciousness after an extremely heavy stag night in Vegas a trio of groomsmen realizes that their groom is missing. With no recollection of the previous night’s activities the boys head off around sin city to retrace their steps in hope of finding their lost friend.

With the cinemas dominated with Judd Apatow comedies over the last year it’s refreshing to see this lesser known film now getting the attention it deserves. From Old School director Todd Phillips and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (Four Christmases) it follows the tried and tested formula of men behaving like boys perfectly.

Acting like idiots as the maturity levels drop and managing to mess up at every turn the boy’s in question - Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis – all manage to balance laugh’s with love, carefully bringing heart to their respective roles.

Unusually, we are spared from witnessing the drunken exploits of the night’s carnage with the film choosing instead to start where you would be expecting it to finish, in the chaos of the aftermath. Playing on the fact that they have consumed date rape drugs rather than E’s the three have no more idea about what’s happened than we do which is an inventive way to help drive the story and works brilliantly,

After a brief introduction setting up the story with the deadline of a wedding and establishing characters we move straight into the wreckage of a one lavish Vegas hotel suite. Destroyed furnishings, temporary beds set up on the floor, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby boy stashed away in one of the closets and of course a missing groom (Justin Bartha). The story soon turns into a detective story as the “best men” hunt for evidence finding little help in what they do find, which ranges from a missing tooth to a hospital admittance band and clues pointing to a unexpected wedding.

The laughs continue thick and fast as it becomes apparent things are far worst than first expected. The detective theme continues as the hotel Vallet pulls up, not in the pristine vintage car they were allowed to borrow from the groom’s father, but in a stolen squad car. One disturbing but incredibly funny scene involving Phillips and the newly acquired baby stands out as one to look out for. You will stare in disbelief, unable to contain the laughter even though you know you really shouldn’t. It’s very wrong and they know it, using it more than once to full effect.

Overall, what makes this film stand out over more generic buddy comedies is the genuine brotherhood between the main cast who all deliver convincing and endearing performances. It might be Bradley Cooper’s pretty boy leading man, Helms as the paranoid worrier or Galifianakis’ furry faced misfit you fall in love with, they all offer a likable familiarity that you can relate to in one way or another and give the film its emotional weight. The film hasn’t had the biggest marketing campaign and as a result it seems to be relying on word of mouth to fill cinema seats, so spread the word - mentioning you get to see Mike Tyson making a musical cameo should spark interest. I can’t wait to see what this group of relatively unknown’s come up with next.

****