Where Most Comedies Fail, The Hangover Succeeds.

Rating: Null/10 (7 October 2013)

Freshly envisioned, skilfully directed & brilliantly performed, The Hangover is a roller-coaster ride of quality entertainment that simply ranks amongst the finest comedies to come out in the past decade for the film is full of hilarious moments, crazy characters & an engaging storyline that never goes dull for a moment.
The Hangover tells the story of 4 friends who travel to Las Vegas to celebrate the bachelor party of one of their own only to wake up the next day with no memory of what happened the previous night & discover that the bachelor himself is missing. The plot follows their search as they try to find him before his impending marriage.
Directed by Todd Phillips, The Hangover brims with freshness that's not easily found in the genre of comedy today and is crafted with deft elegance. Phillips' direction does complete justice to its quality screenplay & balances all aspects of storytelling from start to finish for there are enough genuinely funny moments that never feel forced & characters are finely refined as well.
The Hangover also benefits from its dynamic camera-work & effective use of warm colour palette that captures Las Vegas in all its glory. Editing is one of its finest aspects for the story is briskly paced, trims out the unnecessary moments & keeps the entertainment going throughout its 100 minutes of runtime, and the soundtrack incorporates songs that simply fit its narrative.
Coming to the performances, the cast comprises of Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms & Justin Bartha in the role of four friends, and all of them chip in with breakthrough performances with Zach being the highlight. However, what makes this film amazing isn't its characters but the interplay between them, and the chemistry between these actors goes a long way in making that part work in the film's favour.
On an overall scale, The Hangover is a highly enjoyable, wildly entertaining & endlessly fun cinema that's polished in all aspects of filmmaking, manages to retain its quality all the way & is a welcome addition to the genre of R-rated comedy. It's not without its shortcomings but the positives far outweighs the negatives while the charm of its cast brushes away the other complaints. And where most comedies fail, The Hangover simply succeeds.