I’ve still got a buzz over “The Hangover”, and while I’m not ready to say it cracks my top 10 comedies of all time… it certainly is one of the funniest “R” rated comedies of this decade.

This movie is a great comedic release for adults, as you can guess by the “R” rating and central plot location… many of the hijinks and jokes are not intended for younger audiences. (Warning to parents and the easily offended)
 

What a great group of best friends that groom-to-be “Doug” (Justin Bartha) has looking to find him when he turns up missing after a bachelor party nobody can remember: cool guy Phil (Bradley Cooper) who thinks he can talk his way out of anything, geeky dentist Stu (”The Office”’s Ed Helms) who’s relationship is a joke all by itself, and Doug’s soon-to-be brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis) who doesn’t have it all together mentally.

There are a lot of jokes, but the filmmakers also take time to let the genius of a couple of the jokes really sink in… with moments of no dialogue after the joke so the audience can really think about what just happened.. and laugh a little more before moving on.

The plot is solid and engages the audience, the acting is good, the cinematography and editing is well done, the soundtrack is perfect, the cameos are fun, and the writing is very well crafted… with jokes getting increasingly outrageous as the movie goes on.

I’m not going to ruin the movie or any of the jokes fo you by telling you what they do or say that is so funny… but the movie’s success and many of the jokes, pranks, and hijinks all hinge on their unique characters.

Even the city of Las Vegas is a strong supporting character that the trio have to interact with during the movie.

And they pull it off… while Cooper’s cool guy is good, and Helm’s awkward geekiness is funny, the real scene stealer is the bearded Galifianakis’ whose oddball actions and sayings really complete the trio of misfits in Las Vegas.

While this movie is funnier overall than other recent “R” rated comedies “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Step Brothers”, it also joins these two plus “The Watchmen” (2009) for a reason I wish it hadn’t… male frontal nudity… again.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

This movie is hilarious for adults, and while its not going to win any Oscars, it may go down as one of the funniest movies of 2009… I give it 8.0 out of 10.  Other than a few slower points, this movie was really only missing one thing… pants.

  “The Hangover”

(2009) (rated: R for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material)
(1 hr, 40 min)

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Sasha Barrese, Jeffrey Tambor, Ken Jeong, Rachael Harris, Mike Tyson, Mike Epps, Jernard Burks, Rob Riggle, Cleo King, Bryan Callen

Director: Todd Phillips (”Old School” (2003), “Starsky & Hutch” (2004) , ”Road Trip” (2000) )

Genre: Comedy

The Plot: A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him. 

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

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“The Hangover” poster courtesy Warner Bros.

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