June 2009
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The Hangover (15)
Printed 10th June 2009

For some, big screen comedy will be at an all-time high of consistent bar-setting standards thanks to the likes of Will Ferrell (Anchorman, the upcoming Land of the Lost), Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, the upcoming Funny People), Seth Rogen (Superbad, the upcoming Paul with Pegg & Frost) and Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, the upcoming Brüno). For others, the polar opposite will probably be true as each new release from this merry band of geeks men feels like another nail in the comedy coffin. The Hangover will probably convince both sides of the argument that their opinion is right.

The latest laff-fest from serial funny filmmaker Todd Phillips, The Hangover is one-third Phillips’ own adults behaving badly Old School, one-third underrated 90’s Vegas-set stag-do Very Bad Things and one-third the line-crossing type of comedy that is currently emerging to challenge the establishment (and being spearheaded by Jody “Observe & Report” Hill).

In other, much shorter and succinct, words it is belly-achingly, guffawingly, crassly, offensively, howlingly funny.

As a story, The Hangover is simplicity itself (and really, self-explanatory, from the title), but its parts far outweigh its mediocre sounding whole: four guys, one stag-do, Vegas. After a night of debauchery though, the three groomsmen wake up in their trashed hotel suite one groom-less. What follows is a fill-in-the-blanks run-around Sin City that clues us into what exactly went on the night before and just how Phil (Bradley Cooper – Wedding Crashers) ended up paying a visit to hospital, Stu (Ed Helms – The Daily Show) lost a tooth, Alan (Zach Galifianakis – Tru Calling) ends up with somebody else’s baby, the groom (Justin Bartha – National Treasure’s) gets lost and a tiger gets in the bathroom.

And those are just the set-up scenarios, for as our intrepid “heroes” start to unravel exactly what went on the night before in search of their soon-to-be-wed bud the set-pieces only increase in size, absurdity and hilarity (of which nothing will be revealed here for spoilerage reasons). Let’s just say the hotel valet wheeling round a stolen police cruiser instead of their soft-top penis extension is only the beginning.

To watch the ensuing mayhem, however, you can’t be of the sensitive variety as most of the humour mined here is of the black and un-PC variety. So if you’re the sort of person that can easily get offended then you really should steer clear and go see Night at the Museum 2 (which paradoxically is surely the best selling-point for this film and comedy-in-general? The more offensive the better and the purer the product, no?) or revisit a comfy rom-com on DVD instead? This is a film of the guilt-laugh variety.

Of course every adult-that-has-lived can identify with that dreaded morning after feeling that these guys are going through, where you know you’ve drunk too much, you done things you shouldn’t have, you’ve broken laws you never normally would and you’ve slept with people you’d really rather not remember. That is what pulls you in here. Okay, so you’ve probably never mimed a baby wanking off or married a hooker, even if she does look like the banging Heather graham (no specific details remember), but you’ve undoubtedly done some things you definitely regret.

The catch of the flick though is not the escalating outlandish events that our trio find themselves in, but the buddy-chemistry that they share together throughout them. Individually they have their moments to shine, individually they could all own this film if they wanted, but together they work much better and they generously and unpretentiously acknowledge this and work for the goodness of the film, not their (hopefully) breakout turn, as a whole.

Of course the by-product is that each main player does turn-in a breakout performance here and will surely go on to headline bigger (but not necessarily better) things: Cooper is essentially your Vince Vaughn stand-in, the kind of guy you hate to love. He is a dick, truth be told, but a dick you’d want to be mates and get fucked up with; Helms is the lovable geek, a grown-up version of a Michael Cera-type or McLovin’ if you will; Galifianakis is the token beardy weirdo, the sort of guy you’re unsure about to begin with but love like a brother by the end of your adventure together.

And come the end of the adventure and the movie’s satisfying conclusion you’ll be with these guys every step of the way, each of them having wormed their way into your heart in their own indomitable way. But don’t head for the exits too soon, because there might just be a credits-accompanying treat that eclipses any of the hilarity that has preceded it (if that’s possible?). It will cause hyperventilation and pain-through-too-much-laughter, but its pain in nothing but an orgasmic way.

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