Movie Review: The Hangover (2009)

The Hangover seems to be one of those movies that opens in theaters with a mission to expose how stuffy and boring the tastes of your typical film critic runs. While the camp is not quite as bitterly divided as it was over the earlier (and decidedly more edgy) Observe and Report, The Hangover has, nevertheless, inspired some critics (around 30% or so) to observe that the movie either isn't as hardcore in its raunchiness as the trailer makes it out to be or is, at best, absolutely forgettable - the sort of movie that'll come out in a "WILD & UNRATED VIVA LAS VEGAS EDITION" DVD that will be a staple of most college kid's film collections but will amount to little more.

On the surface, I see where they're coming from. The Hangover features the familiar, misanthropic, stock character types that have been made popular (again) by movies like Wedding Crashers, Dodgeball, and Anchorman. Four friends - Doug (Justin Bartha), Alan (Zach Galifianakis), Stu (Ed Helms), and Phil (Bradley Cooper) - drive to Vegas in the cherriest of Mercedes Benz's to celebrate Doug's impending marriage. Phil is the jerk (a role Bradley Cooper seems to be made for), Stu the cuckolded boyfriend, Alan the lovable idiot, and Doug the responsible, loving husband-to-be.

Doug is the only character who isn't made out to be unlikable in some way shape or form, which seems to be the bread and butter of male-centric comedies these days. Phil, a school teacher, steals money from his students' field trip fund. Stu won't stand up for himself when his girlfriend browbeats him and is constantly in panic mode over one thing or another. Alan, for reasons that aren't made clear, is not allowed within 200 feet of a school. There's probably something wrong with Doug, but the guy has gone missing.

To further stick the poker in the eye of these stuffy critics, the soundtrack is compiled almost exclusively from your local Top 40 radio station, there are celebrity cameos a-plenty, and more pop culture references than Judd Apatow and Kevin Smith could shake four sticks at. If this is what comedy has become, and this does not sound like something you'd like to spend two hours staring at, you may want to bail.

However, after a bit of reflection, I think that the straight-laced among us are simply wrong about The Hangover. This isn't light, fluffy, unlikable, forgettable comedy along the lines of director Todd Phillip's previous work (Road Trip and Old School) - this is something along the lines of Caddyshack or Animal House, comedies that critics used to hate but now bring up whenever they bemoan things like Paul Blart: Mall Cop or Meet the Spartans.

The set-up is simplicity itself: The film starts with Phil calling Doug's soon-to-be wife, five hours before their wedding is supposed to start. They can't find Doug. Skip back to two days later, when things were much simpler. The four go to Vegas, where they book a rather lavish suite at the Caesar's Palace and drink shots of Jaegermeister on the roof, a panoramic view of Sin City laid out beneath them. What ensues afterward is a binge the likes of which only somebody as depraved and drug-addled as Hunter S. Thompson could imagine. While Thompson had the benefit of a journalist's training, a tape recorder, and a startling tolerance for the junk he constantly pumped into his system, Phil, Alan, and Stu have no such luck - they wake up too drunk to remember anything, which is unfortunate, as they quickly face a trashed room, a live chicken, a crying baby, a live tiger, and the fact that they stole a police car. Oh, and they lost Doug. Oh, and Stu lost a tooth and may have done something else he'll come to regret, besides putting the suite in his name.

Their objective is obvious: Find Doug. But to do so requires that they find clues to what exactly they did the night before, which means undoing the considerable amount of damage they did. At this point, the movie shifts from being a dizzying array of verbal humor to being a series of "What the fuck was that" moments. The pay off is the same, and no subject is taboo. Covered: Pedophilia, Julius Caesar, 9/11, the Holocaust, quickie Vegas weddings, belly button piercings, leaving children in cars, Asian penises, fatness, camera phones, stun guns, and Mike Tyson's favorite song.

While The Hangover doesn't quite reach the level of Caddyshack or Animal House, it is the same basic formula - a meaningless quest leads to a series of sketches that ultimately has nothing to do with the main quest. These movies have been a staple of comedy since their release, are often set in frat houses, and are often pale imitations, hampered by poor writing and lame casting. The Hangover is incredibly well written and has a cast that plays their roles perfectly. The ending may seem like a bit of a blow-off, but Doug is such a non-factor in all of this that it doesn't matter.

The Hangover is critic bait - TNT thrown into a barrel of fish. Yeah it's abrasive, combative, misanthropic, and rough around the edges, but that's the point, and there's a message in all of that: If you can't take a joke, fuck off to Land of the Lost. Hollywood needs more of this.



The Dude Abides