The Hangover (Review)

My friend wanted me to go see this with him. I went even though I didn't really think a movie about four guys waking up in Las Vegas after a bachelor party, not knowing what happened the night before would be that great...I can admit when I'm wrong. The Hangover has to be the funniest film I've seen in a while and it seems to be one of those rare comedies that we're going to be quoting lines to our friends for weeks afterward.

The film plays out like a comedic mystery as three of the four guys have to wonder around piecing together what happened the night before in order to find their friend, Doug, who was absent when they woke up. The best part is that there are real clues to where Doug has vanished and it is possible figure the truth out before the big reveal. Something else that I really like is that when the guys first wake up, their room is destroyed and many odd things are in the room: a tiger, a baby, one of the guys is missing a tooth and another apparently went to hospital. What's cool is where most films would have left that as a just an unrelated joke, The Hangover actually takes time to explain where these things came from and often the truth is just as funny as what could have been implied.

It is the acting talent and the dedication of Helms, Cooper and Gilifanakis that make the movie work. Bradley Cooper has a few laughs in his role of the likeable dickheaded group leader. Ed Helms wears the role of a guy broken down by his bitch girlfriend like a glove. But the comedy crown goes to Zach Gilifanakis as Doug's future brother in law. If you didn’t know who Zach Gilifanakis was before this movie started, you’ll know who he is now. He not only steals the movie, he runs away with it early on and never looks back.

The only problems I had in the movie was that the Asian mobster that appears late in film is very annoying, although he does get some good lines in and I also didn't like that the way guys figure out where Doug is due to a random dialogue exchange rather than from a concrete clue. Other than that I really liked this movie. All I can say is that if you’re looking for a good, fun movie, look no further.