Todd Phillips' best movie yet!!!

Rating: 9/10 (26 June 2009)

Similar to actors, when a director puts out several movies that I enjoy (e.g.; Eastwood, Spielberg, Bay, etc.), I tend to follow their projects closely. Not only their current projects, but also their future ones. Phillips is the next great director and his genre is comedies. His first movie I enjoyed was Road Trip (2000) which he then followed with what I considered not only his personal best, but probably the funniest movie of my generation Old School (2003). These were followed by a couple of so-so movies Starsky & Hutch (2004) and School for Scoundrels (2006). These two were not terrible, just not up to par with his prior gems. Well, my friends, Phillips is back and with a bang with The Hangover. Unlike his prior movies, there are no bona fide star, but I can assure you that this movie will launch the four main characters, Cooper, Galifianakis, Helms and Bartha, into stardom. The movie has a simple premise; four friends go to Vegas to celebrate a bachelor party only to have everything go completely wrong. Like that hasn't been done before. But what makes this film special is that from the time you sit down to watch the movie, until the very end (make sure you stay for the credits), you are laughing non-stop. The dialog, the situations, etc. had me laughing hysterically. The other thing that makes this movie great is that even after you leave the theater, you might be watching TV, working or doing some other activity, a couple of lines from the movie will cross your mind and you'll start laughing again. That is what I consider a great movie. When you think about a movie and enjoy it as if you were watching it. Of course the movie is not for everyone, as Phillips tends to push the envelope (some people may consider some of the scenes offensive), but I think it really works. This movie won't win any Oscars, but others will now be following Mr. Phillips' career very closely.