I originally saw the first trailer for "The Hangover" over a month ago, and knew immediately that I wanted to see it. I was slightly worried that it would be one of those movies that all the funny parts are in the preview, but the clip that I saw made me laugh out loud which is a rare occurrence for me in the coming attractions.
Then I found out it was directed by Todd Phillips, the same man that wrote and directed "Old School". Old School is easily one of my favorite comedies of all time despite being a simple movie. The plot is definitely not complex, but the cast and writers were able to elevate a simple premise with dark and irreverent humor expertly written and delivered.
The first time I saw the movie I knew that I was going to love it before the opening credits were finished because of two of the best jokes in the entire movie. The first was the dad smacking his son in the back of his head as Luke Wilson looks on disbelief while passing the dysfunctional family on an escalator. The other was after Luke Wilson asks a taxi driver, "Sir, my seat belt appears to be broken. What do you suggest I do?" The driver succinctly tells Wilson, "I suggest you quit being such a faggot." I know it's sophomoric but I never claimed to be sophisticated by any means and the brutal joke sets the stage for the "nothing sacred" motif that the rest of the movie follows.
This success creates a problem for The Hangover that Old School didn't suffer from; expectations. One of the main reasons that I and so many others enjoyed Old School so much was because there was very little hype surrounding it. Phillips' only other directorial accomplishment was "Road Trip" which was somewhat entertaining but not nearly funny enough to merit excitement for follow on features. Old School changed that.
Old School features a trio of friends consisting of a smooth talking asshole (Vince Vaughn), a childlike clown (Will Ferrell) and the straight man that is still capable of irreverence (Luke Wilson). That trio allows primitive desires for partying to distract them from the stability of their lives which sets them on a course of misadventures. The descriptions of those misadventures aren't remarkably funny, but the derisive and satirical dialogue between not only the main characters but also the entire cast of eccentric characters carries the movie.
Phillips uses all of Old School's keys for success as a blue print for The Hangover. Despite the movie seemingly featuring four main characters, the plot is primarily centered upon finding the fourth and missing friend (Justin Bartha) whose bachelor party is the reason for the trip to Las Vegas. So that leaves three friends; a smooth talking asshole teacher that will steal field trip money from his junior high students (Bradley Cooper), a childlike clown that mysteriously cannot go within 200 yards of a school (Zach Galifianakis), and a straight man of a dentist that will pull his own tooth out to spite a friend (Ed Helms). Within the first 20 minutes of the movie the trio of remaining friends must set out to learn about the previous night's misadventures in an attempt to find the missing groom. Sound familiar?
Usually the identification of such formulaic similarities between two movies would be cause for criticism, but this not the case for The Hangover in my opinion. There were countless parts throughout the movie that I knew a development was coming but seeing it was hysterical nonetheless. I must have seen the bit consisting of a Las Vegas police officer (Rob Riggle) delighting in Galifianakis getting shot in the face by a stun gun in the trailer at least 50 times, but it was still hilarious to see it in the middle of the movie. The added casual description by Riggle of Galifianakis as "fat Jesus" during the scene is exactly the supplementary dialogue that makes Phillips' movies so funny. Phillips, by the way, has appeared in both Old School (random visitor asking about the gang bang) and The Hangover (a random guy performing oral sex on a chick in a Las Vegas hotel elevator).
If you're worried that you'll predict the vast majority of the events in The Hangover don't be. You will, but it won't matter. There's just enough unpredictability to be mixed in with ingenious satire to make The Hangover well worth your time. Five minutes before the end of the movie as it is seemingly on cruise control toward an anticlimactic ending I would have labeled The Hangover with 4 out of 5 Awake Franks. I don't want to ruin it, but obviously something happened as I am now willing to rate it at 4.5 Awake Franks. (A post will be forthcoming explaining the strange movie grade moniker).
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The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
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The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 