Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The Hangover


The Hangover is possibly the best comedy to hit theaters in about two years. There I said it. To draw a comparison to this statement, the last movie to keep me as thoroughly engrossed and laughing consistently was Knocked Up. Skepticism was my first thought. When a movie is so widely acclaimed as this, especially a comedy about being blackout drunk, someone is wrong(examples of this phenomenon are Austin Powers and There's Something About Mary, both funny, but highly overrated.) Fortunately, the rule doesn't come close to applying to The Hangover.

Previously acclaimed for both Road Trip and Old School (we can ignore the missteps that were Starsky and Hutch and School for Scoundrels,) director Todd Philips has a knack for "it list" casting. Previously utilizing Seann William "Steve Stiffler" Scott, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn, Philips now ushers in the next generation of comedic talent in Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper.

The lead in this ensemble is actually Helms (The Office's rage-oholic Andy Bernard) as Stu, the resident pushover with the uber-controlling girlfriend. Cooper (departing from the role of "evil boyfriend" from Wedding Crashers) plays Phil, the fun loving friend that puts the "buddy" in "buddy-comedy." Then there's Zach Galifianakis as the bride-to-be's black sheep older brother, Alan. He's essentially the creepy guy that has very few friends because he's just so strange, but never really got a handle on how strange he really is because he didn't have any friends to tell him so. Justin Bartha (Riley Poole from both National Treasures) brings up the rear as the MIA groom. Throw in some guest appearances by Heather Graham (who is surprisingly not horrible in this, in the same way she wasn't horrible on Scrubs,) Mike Tyson (proving that he's still the champ, albiet a champ with a really weird facial tattoo,) Rob Riggle (regular Daily Show correspondent/loudmouth,) an small appearance by director Todd Philips himself and The Dan Band (previously seen at the wedding from Old School) and the absurdity abounds for at least 2 hours.

Putting a new twist on the classic "Bachelor Party in Vegas" gig, The Hangover blacks out all the drunken debaucherie from our "heroes" and we are left with the aftermath of a night that went wrong on so many levels. Missing tooth? Check. Tiger in bathroom? Check. Baby in the closet? Check. Zach Galifianakis without pants? Check. From this point out it's almost as if the movie doesn't stop to catch its breath until well after the credits have started rolling (you'll see what I mean) presenting a comedic momentum that's been unmatched in cinema for a long time. Most comedies either start strong and lose steam halfway through or keep the strength up but get caught up in the heavy handed moral tale at the core of the narrative. The Hangover manages to mix in the morality and message while keeping the funny at a constant peak level.

After some thought, this film sort of rounds out Todd Phillips' trilogy of successful comedies. A trilogy I will call, the Man/Boy Trilogy. They all include a similar set of characters enduring comedic circumstances.

Breckin Meyer/Luke Wilson/Ed Helms - Straight man, emotional lead.
Seann William Scott/Vince Vaughn/Bradley Cooper - Irrational shoulder angel to the straight man. Id.
D.J. Qualls/Will Ferrell/Zach Galifianakis - Oddball, uncomfortable comic relief.

All three films encompass some sort of brotherly bond among close friends. The films progress and mature in an almost Apatowian fashion (from 40 Year Old Virgin to Knocked Up to this year's Funny People.) Road Trip features immature college kids acting like immature college kids. Old School has adult men reliving their glory days as immature college kids and The Hangover follows up with adult men acting like immature adult men. Rumors of a sequel are already milling around the studio with Phillips possibly at the helm. If that's the case, I can only hope that it's as hilarious as its predecessor.


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