The Hangover

 

Movie: THE HANGOVER

Review by Kevin Xalvis (xalviss)

Cast: Bardley cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galfanicks, Justin Bartha

Director: Todd Phillips

It has become so rare in this century, to find a genuinely decent and funny comedy. In the crowd of Scary Movie type comedies, Todd Phillips' fresh and hilarious The Hangover stands out as a clear winner for modern comedy.

OMG…Belly laughs are what you are after there are plenty of them in this film. The plot is simple. Four lads go to Vegas for a stag night. The following morning their room is a mess and the groom is missing. And they have no memory of the night before. They have to retrace their steps to find the groom before the wedding the following day. That sounds like a routine "Gross Out" comedy, which in many ways it is. Most of the characters are straight out of clichés, the hen pecked nerd, the married guy who wants to cut loose for once and the groom who wants to have a good time but not overdo things so soon before the wedding. There are some very funny scenes and unexpected plot twists to keep your attention.

I'd recommend this to a mainly male audience. The female characters aren't developed at all and are there only to move the plot along

Even Mike Tyson, The Champ, surprised me with a little laughter in his tiger scene.

A few sequences were exceptionally worthwhile -- the first morning after events set up the rest of the film with outrageous sight gags that suggested epic debauchery without revealing too much too soon.

Stay through the credits for a big payoff. You'll laugh until you hiccup, and then after you catch your breath, you'll laugh even harder. In fact, I may need a comedy intervention.

I also like that the director doesn't just give away the ending. Phillips knows how to make the characters believable and keep the story compelling. This is his best movie to date and he proves that he can get semi-famous actors and make them good.

The Hangover is sure to become a cult classic and I don't see it ever getting old. I also really never thought I'd be feeling sorry for Heather Graham's character at the end. So far I've seen this five times and I'll probably watch it a hundred times more. Guys must watch!

Cheers

Kevinxalvis