“Would you please put some pants on? I feel weird having to ask you twice.”
Cast: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Justin Bartha
When Phil, Stu and Alan take friend Doug (Justin Bartha) on his bachelor party to Las Vegas the night before he’s to get married, they strike trouble when they wake up the next day to find him missing. As they slowly piece back together the events that occurred the night before, they battle through their horrible hangovers to try and find Doug and get him to his wedding on time.
What unfolds is a hilarious film, full of great one-liners that most guys love to quote back to you. With a surprising cameo from Mike Tyson too, the film is nothing but entertaining.
The Hangover is a very male dominated film and the humour can be seen as fairly sophomoric, just as you’d expect from a typical ‘bro comedy’, yet I myself loved it. The representations within the film are very misguided and stereotypical though, which women may find offensive. Yet if we are to go down that route, even the men have stereotypical roles to fill so I guess there is an equal amount of misguided representation between genders. Besides, it’s not a ground breaking movie with deep messages or profound complexities, but one to make you laugh and full of great scenes that keep you thoroughly entertained.
I thought it was fantastically filmed. Las Vegas is made to look enticing and magnetic, the casinos are huge and inviting and the colours from the wider shots of the city pop with a brilliant vibrancy.
The three main characters are spot on too. They carry the film at a brisk pace and have great chemistry together. Cooper suits playing Phil to a tee; he’s a slick, good-looking guy with all the talk. He was fairly unknown before this role so it really did put him on the map. He was surprisingly funny and manages to charm the audience each time he’s the focus of a scene. Helms is great a Stu too, in the film he undergoes a transformation from being a whipped boyfriend to an independent man. Helms does this with superb elements of hilarity that make it one of the funniest ‘personal growth’ transformations I’ve ever seen. My favourite character though is Alan who is played by Galifianakis. I’m sure many would agree with this too. Slightly brain-damaged with hints of self-proclaimed Asperger’s, Alan is the “glue that holds them together”. He’s just great.
One thing I felt slightly ruined the film for me was the over-exaggeration on Ken Jeong’s behalf, who plays Mr Chow. While his character is a great addition to the film and the personality of Mr Chow had to be played with some degree of exaggeration, in some places I think he goes a little too far. That is my only real complaint about the film, which isn’t much of a complaint at all.
I just sat back and really enjoyed the film for what it was. You should too.
Star rating: 8.5/10
Directed by Todd Phillips.
Running time 100 minutes.
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