The Hangover Review (2009)

November 25, 2009January 5, 2018 Dave Andrew Astor, Bradley Cooper, Brody Stevens, Bryan Callen, Casey Margolis, Charlene Geisler, Cleo King, Ed Helms, Gillian Vigman, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, Jernard Burks, Jon Lucas, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Matt Walsh, Mike Epps, Mike Tyson, Mike Vallely, Mitch Hollerman, Murray Gershenz, Nathalie Fay, Rachael Harris, Rob Riggle, Sasha Barrese, Scott 'Carrot Top' Thompson, Scott Moore, Sondra Currie, The Hangover, The Hangover Review, Todd Phillips, Zach Galifianakis

Summary: It should be the weekend of all weekends as Phil, Stu and Alan take their friend Doug to Vegas for his Buck’s Party. But when the wake up the next morning with severe hangovers, a baby, a Police Car in their possession and a tiger in their room they know they’ve had a big night. They then realise that Doug is missing and they have absolutely no idea where he is. This weekend is one that they will remember.

Year: 2009

Australian Cinema Release Date: 11th June, 2009

Australian DVD Release Date: 25th November, 2009

Country: USA, Germany

Director: Todd Phillips

Screenwriter: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

Cast: Andrew Astor (Eli), Sasha Barrese (Tracy), Justin Bartha (Doug), Jernard Burks (Leonard), Bryan Callen (Eddie), Bradley Cooper (Phil), Sondra Currie (Linda), Mike Epps (Black Doug), Nathalie Fay (Lisa), Zach Galifianakis (Alan), Charlene Geisler (Katie), Murray Gershenz (Felix), Heather Graham (Jade), Rachael Harris (Melisa), Ed Helms (Stu), Mitch Hollerman (Max), Ken Jeong (Mr. Chow), Cleo King (Officer Garden), Casey Margolis (Budnick), Todd Phillips (Mr. Creepy), Rob Riggle (Officer Franklin), Brody Stevens (Officer Foltz), Jeffrey Tambor (Sid), Scott ‘Carrot Top’ Thompson (himself), Mike Tyson (himself), Mike Vallely (Neeco), Gillian Vigman (Stephanie), Matt Walsh (Dr. Valsh)

Runtime: 103 mins

Classification:R18+

SUBCULTURE MEDIA/THE GOOD THE BAD THE UGLY FILM SHOW REVIEWS/RATINGS OF ‘THE HANGOVER’:

David Griffiths:Have we just found the funniest comedy of the year. I haven’t laughed so much at a film for quite a long time. The major thing that ‘The Hangover’ has working in its favor is that it has the perfect comedy script. All the situations and one liners are pieces of comic genius and unlike most comedies these days it managed to have the whole audience in absolute stitches… now that is the sign of a very good comedy indeed.

‘The Hangover’ tells the story of three friends; Phil Wenneck (Bradley Cooper), Stu Price (Ed Helms) and Alan Garner (Zach Galifianakis) who take Doug Billings (Justin Bartha) to Las Vegas for his bucks night. For all four of them it is an important trip, it gives the confident Phil time away from his wife and child, it gives the under-the-thumb Stu time away from his bitchy girlfriend and it allows the ‘not-quite-normal’ Alan time to make friends for the first time in his life. However the weekend takes a turn for the worse when Phil, Stu and Alan wake up to find their room trashed, a tiger in the bathroom and the worst hangovers of their lives. To make matters worse, Doug is missing, they have stolen a Police Car and some how inherited a baby. Can they get their wits about them and find Doug so he can make it to his wedding in time? Somehow you just know things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

The writers of ‘The Hangover’ were previously responsible for ‘Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past’ and they manage to out do what they did there with a script so funny that we haven’t seen anything like it since ‘Road Trip’. Director, Todd Phillips recreates the magic he created with ‘Old School’ and ‘Road Trip’. He manages to keep his comic leads under control and keeps the film believable at all times… that is the main reason why this film works because you honestly believe the situation that the characters find themselves in.

The leads in this film do an amazing job. They truly deserve their lead roles here and are a joy to watch. Zach Galifianakis does an amazing job and shoes that he is much better comedy actor than the likes of Adam Sandler and Jack Black. When you watch him in ‘The Hangover’ you get the feeling that you are watching a true comedy legend in the makings, you can only hope that he gets more opportunities to show his comedy-gold to the world.

There is little surprise that ‘The Hangover 2’ is already in pre-production, this film is so good that it deserves to do well at the box office. ‘The Hangover’ is one of the funniest films of the year and is a must for those who love to laugh out loud.

(out of 5)

IMDB Rating:

Trailer: