The Hangover
To a night we won’t ever forget
Summary
Phil, Stu, and Alan head to Las Vegas to have a bachelor party for their buddy Doug. After arriving there they start to party but the next morning Stu, Phil, and Alan all wake up not remembering what happened and they realize Dough is missing. So the three of them have to figure out what happened the night before so they can find Doug and get him back for his wedding.
Characters
The Hangover features four characters: Doug, the groom-to-be, Alan, Doug’s brother-in-law, Phil, the schoolteacher, and Stu, the dentist. Although Doug is to be married soon, he is actually absent for most of the movie. Alan is a loner, and until this bachelor party, he had no one. Phil is a loud and lightly arrogant person. He wants to enjoy the bachelor party to its max. Stu is usually the level-headed one, until after the events of the night in Vegas, he sheds his shell and becomes a loose cannon.
Austin: 9.3/10
The Hangover brings a type of comedy to the plate that nearly everyone, age-appropriate of course, will enjoy. It is a variety basket of comedy, and I think that is what makes it such a beloved movie. The characters are great, and the plot is just relatable enough to make this a great movie to watch with a group.
I think the best part about this plot is the way almost anyone can relate to the idea behind a little bit of a crazy night gone terribly wrong. The group is made up of 4 very different characters that play off of each other and no matter who your friends are, you are going to immediately associate at least one person with each of the characters. The plot moves along quite quickly, and the largely unknown night is both a great source of comedy as well as a huge question mark. This uncertainty for almost the entire movie keeps your brain turning with What Ifs and hypotheses, all while being bombarded by comedic moments.
The characters are awesome for a whole variety of reasons. First, they are polar opposites in many ways, and this creates tension between them. Because they are all still friends, this tension results in humour instead of escalating into anger. The second thing that is arguably more impressive due to the genre and nature of this movie is the development. We see two of our characters develop in a big way, to the point where they are not even close to the same character as the beginning. The writing and the filmography in this one really impressed me.
The only downside I see is the lack of screen time for Doug. He was a character that I felt had some really great potential, both in the moment and looking back on the night in question. The plot centres around him not being there, but I think it would have added maybe 5-10 minutes of hilarious scenes if we had gotten his point of view of both the night and the following events. Not a huge miss, but just a small piece that could have made this an even better movie.
This movie is great. It’s funny, it’s goofy, it’s well written, and the story is great. It doesn’t fall down the comedy trap of losing the plot or characters for the comedy, and it makes me excited for the sequel. All in all, this is absolutely worth a watch, regardless of your taste in movies.
Sebastian: 9.2/10
This is one of those films that I remember hearing about long before I could actually see it. It had this reputation of being this fantastic comedy that everyone seemed to enjoy. When I finally turned an age-appropriate age to watch the film I can say that it surpassed my expectations and I remember laughing a lot. The Hangover is my favourite comedy and is one of my top 20 favourite films. The comedy in this film largely comes from the craziness of the situations that our characters find themselves in. Whether it is a baby in a closet or a tiger in the bathroom it’s the ludicrous nature of the scenarios that drive the comedy forward. That isn’t to say that the characters themselves aren’t funny. In fact, the characters are quite funny throughout especially the way that Phil ( played by Bradley Cooper) and Stu ( played by Ed Helms) interact off of Alan ( played by Zach Galifianakis) who is the weird and awkward soon to be brother in law of Doug. When the three are on the hunt for Doug the movie has so many memorable jokes and scenes that really capture the spirit of the film. This film has an energy to it that is non stop and because everything moves so quickly you never get bored. Almost every single joke works in this movie with most of them being well set up sometimes very early in the film.
All in all, this is a hilarious film that I laugh at every time I watch it. So, if you’re old enough to check it out or if you’ve already watched it you’re sure to have a good time on second viewing. If you’re looking for a laugh hop on Netflix and check it out!
Nathanyal: 8.7/10
The Hangover was a fun movie to watch. It wasn’t the deepest of movies with the most interesting of plots. It was simple, and simple made it work. It’s a funny movie with a simple problem, and that’s what made it shine.
The best part of this movie is the premise and the comedy. Having a situation where all the characters forget everything that happened the night before and having one member of the group disappearing was a great set up. In a way, it became a pseudo mystery movie, and I really enjoyed that. Being an R rated movie, there are plenty of inappropriate scenes that isn’t suitable for all values, but it was still funny nonetheless. My favourite character has to be Mr. Chow played by Ken Jeong. His scenes definitely made me crack up the most. Besides the characters, the whole mystery behind the night before was also quite intriguing. It was fun to watch what happened to the guys as the guys discovered the truth together.
The only real downside of this movie comes from the simplicity. Most of the comedy is slapstick and in the face. For those who don’t enjoy those kinds of jokes, this might not be the movie for you. Also, the movie altogether isn’t the most memorable. It’s a fun and straight comedy, fun in the moment, then quickly forgotten.
Overall, this movie was still a fun watch. The jokes were pretty funny, and the solving of the mystery did intrigue me. For those who are okay with R rated movies and want a fun comedy to watch to burn some time, this is one I would recommend.
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