Another guest review from Lindsay. My reviews will resume next week. – Al
The Hangover
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham
Writers: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Director: Todd Phillips
Year: 2009
If amnesia can be this much fun I should try whackin’ my head more often.
The setup couldn’t have been more basic: Guy’s getting married; friends take him to Vegas for his bucks night… then lose him. This flick is every dude’s fantasy – the concept that “last night must have been fantastic because I can’t remember a thing!” is something that we all hope and pray to wake up to one morning.
This flick continues that most hallowed of modern mythologies – Vegas. The way this town is portrayed in movies makes me think that the world would be a better place if everyone could live in Vegas. Sure we’d be significantly less educated; we’d all have a string of ex-wives as long as Mike Tyson’s prison sentence; and I would enter into a dreamlike daze with all the celebrity sightings – never sure whether to feel that since this is the only place they can get a gig anymore, is that good for me or bad for them?
Look, back to the movie. Bradley Cooper enters the leading man stakes – he’s good looking and charming, and only occasionally makes me want to hit him in the face for it. Cameos from Mike Tyson (no spoiler to anyone who’s seen the trailer) and Ken Jeong (playing Ken Jeong… naked) are gut-bustingly funny. The movie never gets bogged down in being boring, everything moves steadily along as the bucks party follow the trail of clues to piece together their “unforgettable night” and recover the groom. But the real gold here is Galifianakis: a funny-man who makes you want to laugh just looking at him stand still. His comic timing is impeccable, he does the jokes and the gags with equal hilarity.
There’s heaps that I could rave about and elaborate on…but it happened last night, and I forgot. I’ll let you experience it for yourself.
Rating deducted only for almost seeing Ken Jeong’s junk, and for the thing with the baby. You’ll know it when you see it.
How to enjoy it
Not hard. Invite the gang, drink some brews and press play. Then plan a trip to Vegas.
Rating – 4 out of 5 (Really Enjoyable)
Esoteric Fish - Shallow and Pedantic 
One thing that is a major mystery for me. Why The Hangover is such a smash hit? I’ve seen about fifty movies funnier and better than this and made nowhere near the amount of money this did.
It’s a well constructed comedy film that taps perfectly into the mythos of Vegas. Vegas has grown from just a city into an ideal. A place where you can leave all your troubles behind and have a night where anything can happen. That’s a pretty good location for this sort of story. So while there are funnier films, they don’t have all of the cultural history to back them up.
I’ll admit that I can’t watch it over and over and find it funny every time. But, much like anything featuring Will Ferrel, the comedy gold is found in the completely out of their mind characters like Galifianakis and Jeong. It’s great to laugh with some characters that you empathise with. It’s even better to laugh at some characters that you hope never to meet.