07/15/09 - The Hangover

The Hangover (2009, 100 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1119646/

I somewhat mix up things a little bit with a comedy. While the Evil Dead movies weren't exactly "scary" I wouldn't classify them as comedy either, so this is the first full comedy I've seen in a while (not counting Brüno or Dogma which were more shock humor).

The Hangover tells the story of the three groomsmen Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) who lose their friend, the groom Doug (Justin Bartha) right before the wedding. Having completely forgotten the previous night they must find out, through clues, what happened to Doug and where he is.

One thing I particularly liked about this movie is that each of the three main characters (Doug really doesn't have much screen time) have a strikingly different personality that, when put all together, works really well. Phil is the suave guy who thinks everything will be fine, Stu is the guy paranoid his girlfriend will find out everything, and Alan is the crazy guy that makes no sense half the time. Each has hilarious lines and I frequently found myself laughing at just simple lines or even the mannerisms of the characters.

The plot is fine but the drawback is that there are quite a few minor characters. Mike Tyson is surprisingly funny in his cameo and Heather Graham as the stripper Jade is fine but the character doesn't do enough for the viewer to really care about her. Finally, the worst side-character is the Chinese high roller Mr. Chow played by Ken Jeong. The character is annoying and the whole arc of the plot that his character occupies is pretty stupid. He was definitely the worst part of the movie.

Overall, I gave this movie a 7/10. The characters work so well together that I was constantly humored throughout the whole film. However, too many side-characters with not enough development leave some parts lacking. It's still incredibly enjoyable and easily one of the better comedies to be released recently.