Sunday, June 07, 2009

The Hangover (2009)

***1/2

Directed by Todd Phillips
Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore

Bradley Cooper ... Phil Wenneck
Ed Helms ... Stu Price
Zach Galifianakis ... Alan Garner
Justin Bartha ... Doug Billings
Heather Graham ... Jade

Rated R
Runtime: 1 hr. 40 mins.

The Hangover is outrageous. And I don't mean gross-out (though there's some of that). But flat-out, jaw-droppin', "I can't believe this is happening" outrageous. Why can't more comedies be like this? Why can't more comedies have this sense of glee and utter abandon? Why do so many comedies feel so damn...written? Well, because they've been shoved through studio execs who think that if they can't reach every single demographic they won't have a job. That creates fear and timidity and it's ruining Hollywood. I'd thank God for the success of The Hangover but we've got a year, tops, until the lukewarm rehash. Until then....

The set-up: 1 man is getting married. 3 men accompany him to Vegas for his bachelor party. The celebration begins on the roof, shots of Jager going down like college. The next morning (afternoon?), they awaken to find their suite trashed, a chicken roaming free, a tiger locked in the bathroom, and a baby in a closet. Other maladies are revealed slowly like a missing tooth (found fairly quickly, the explanation lagging). And, oh yeah, their friend, you know, the one getting married? Yeah. They can't find him.

There's a noirish element to the film. Certainly not in the sunlight, but to the mystery. There's a certain elegance to a movie that not only raises the stakes so high but also provides answers.

And we're led through these adventures by three incredibly capable comedic actors as the friends: Bradley Cooper, he of whom is oft asked, why is he not more famous? Yea, verily. Ed Helms, as the whipped, and cuckolded dentist and Zach Galifanakis, the dim bulb who I'm pretty sure does not curse. Though he is wont to do any number of other things.

So what else is there to say? Not much. Kudos to you, director Todd Phillips and writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. Seems like you got to make the movie you wanted to make. To critics other than Ebert, what is wrong with you? Don't you like to have fun? To the rest of you, have fun. Go see it.

2 comments:

Jake VanKersen said...

Elegance was the word that I was searching for in my review. Todd Phillips has an elegance to his comedies. That being said I didn't love this film because the story was not interesting. I think Todd Phillips and the cast did an outstanding job. There story and the characters were pretty standard.

I suppose my two stars, which is a good film on my scale, came from the fact that the elegance of Todd Phillips and the talent of the cast was dragged down by the script and not enhanced by it.

Also, I think Old School, which was written and directed by Todd Phillips was a better showcase for his talent.

Scott said...

I disagree. The story/script was one of the most interesting parts. It was discovering what happened to their friend. It was a strong through-line, something most comedies don't even know exists.

And I suppose the characters were standard, but I cared about them a lot more than I usually do in movies like this: the rare plot-driven comedy.

I saw Old School too long ago to consider which is better. If pressed, I go with The Hangover.