delivers more than enough laughs by keeping the comic tension tight all the way through

Rating: 8/10 (25 March 2010)

The Hangover takes a standard premise and turns it into a hilarious comedy that combines raunchy humor with "what's going to be next" mystery. After the crazy bachelor party, the three guys can't remember virtually anything about what actually has happened and where the groom can be. This simple concept appears to be very productive and the team of screenwriters squeezes all the juice out of it providing plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes. The humor not only stems from frequently absurd situations the guys come across, but also their mostly hilarious interactions. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis make for a great comedy trio playing characters of totally different personalities. Phil (Cooper) is a party animal; Stu (Helms) is a pragmatist; and Alan (Galifianakis) seems to live in his own bizarre world. They all bring different elements to the film. Galifianakis is especially hilarious delivering totally unhinged, yet perfectly likable performance. Even though The Hangover is not sufficiently heartfelt or powerful to be a classic in my book, it still delivers more than enough laughs by keeping the comic tension tight all the way through.