The Hangover*****
The Hangover focuses on three best friends, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Alan (Zach Galifianakis), and Stu (Ed Helms) who are taking their groom-to-be friend Doug (Justin Bartha) to Las Vegas for a night of drinking, gambling, and damn right outrageousness. However, no night in Vegas could be enjoyed without any hiccups along the way...
I have watched this films at least fifteen times and would happily watch it everyday for the rest of my life, it was that good. Not only did it have some really outstanding actors, it actually had some original comedy which was genuinely funny because it could happen. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, and I definitely think it deserved that.
Director Todd Phillips has made several fantastically funny films, such as Old School (2003) and Road Trip (2000) both supplying us with the likes of Vince Vaughn, Seann William Scott and Will Ferrell. Phillips cameoed in The Hangover as the guy in the lift wearing a moustache and sunglasses, and that's what I love about The Hangover. I notice something I didn't see before every time I watch it. There's always a facial expression or background noise you didn't quite catch, which just makes your mouth twitch a little bit more. When I first watched it I was disappointed that we didn't get to actually watch their night out in Vegas, but the narrative is something I've grown to appreciate, as we watch these four best friends put the puzzle pieces of their night back together in incredibly unpredictable ways. On the other hand, I think the photos at the end accompanying the credits leave us to our own judgements of what happened, and it gets you wondering what measures they had to go to for some of those photos!
Within the first half an hour of the film we can already tell what the personalities of the characters are going to be like, and all four actors play up to this throughout (except Doug, who doesn't get to do much when he's stuck on the roof! Oops, spoiler.) Nevertheless, at the end I think we see a dramatic difference in each man, as they have conquered the characteristic (or controlling cow in Stu's case) that brought them down, increasing what was just an average friendship. The soundtrack was one to be proud of, ranging from "Who Let the Dogs Out" to Kanye and Rihanna, to Phil Collins and Ed Helms himself. It suited the situation of four guys bigging up Vegas and I felt myself singing along on my first viewing. Alan's little song "Three Best Friends" reflected his character well, showing he was insecure of not really being close to anyone and that he relied on other people a lot. The CGI and green screen usage was amazing, if I had not watched the special features on the DVD I would never have guessed the view from their room wasn't real. Call me silly, but it was a jaw dropping view.
Through the pain of watching Stu lose his tooth and Alan accidentally hitting a baby's face with a car door, this film is going to be a hard to beat comedy in my eyes. And what with The Hangover 2 being set for 2011, I am once again looking forward to laughing unreasonably loud in the cinema and Alan playing up to his usual dumb antics. All four boys have signed up for the sequel :)
Stu's Song - definitely worth a watch!
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2105934361/
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