THE HANGOVER review by Mark Walters

Director Todd Phillips is responsible for some of my favorite comedies of the last decade, namely ROAD TRIP and OLD SCHOOL. I like both of those films, not because they're innovative triumphs in filmmaking, but because they harken back to the days of slapstick comedies from the late 1970's and early 80's. It's a style of comedy that got lost for a bit, and Phillips helped bring it back into the mainstream. Others have tried to mimic his style, but few have succeeded in perfectly following in his footsteps. That's not to say the man is flawless. He helmed the 2004 big screen update of STARSKY & HUTCH and SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS, both of which I wasn't blown away by, though each had their moments. Needless to say I was excited to see Todd getting back to the OLD SCHOOL type of storytelling in his newest film, THE HANGOVER.



The story follows four men on their way to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. Doug (Justin Bartha) is about to get married, and his two best buds Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) along with his brother in law Alan (Zack Galifianakis) want to show him the time of his life. What starts off as a promising night turns ugly when Phil, Stu, and Alan awake the next morning to find Doug missing, their room trashed, a tiger in the bathroom, a chicken running loose around the floor, and an unclaimed baby in one of the closets. To make matters worse, they can't remember ANYTHING from the night before. Now they must retrace their steps to figure out what happened, and hopefully find the missing groom before time runs out.



Certain movies come to mind when watching THE HANGOVER. The dark comedy VERY BAD THINGS of course, and the popular buddy flick WEDDING CRASHERS are familiar references. But Todd Phillips manages to take an all too familiar storyline and do some interesting things with it. It's wild and irreverent, just the way it should be. But the script manages to keep the audience guessing, and laughing pretty hard along the way. This is a great example of how to assemble a solid cast of characters, all of who play strongly off one another. I cannot tell you how glad I am that Zack Galifianakis is finally getting to show his comedic chops in a big movie. He has always cracked me up, and I kept hoping one of these days the world would be properly exposed to his comedic genius. He's a mix of Stephen Wright and Jason Alexander, a man that can make you laugh just by standing there. I've loved Bradley Cooper since his portrayal of the cocksure jock in WEDDING CRASHERS. He's got a gravitas about him that is strong and admirable, and I enjoy watching him play a likeable character. Ed Helms almost mirrors his character from THE OFFICE, but he works nonetheless. He actually has the strongest character story, in that Phil is being suppressed by a controlling girlfriend back home, and he needs so badly to be freed mentally from her command. I also enjoyed seeing Helms play a character that you LIKE for a change, as you fans of THE OFFICE know up until now he's been anything but. There's a few other familiar faces, such as Heather Graham (who is subdued with her character but works well in the script), Ken Jeong, Mike Epps, Rob Riggle, and Mike Tyson (I'm sure his scene has been spoiled for you if you've seen the previews). It's hard to review a film such as this without giving away too much of the laughs. I'll just say it's very VERY funny, and extremely satisfying for the right audience. Granted, this isn't going to be for everyone, but if you're like me, and have had a few questionable nights involving too much drink, there's more that enough familiar humor here to have you walking out with a big goofy grin on your face.

Oh, don't walk out before seeing "photos" in the credits... they're one of the best parts of the film.

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