It's Not Art, but it is funny.

Rating: 7/10 (9 April 2015)

The Hangover is a raunchy, ridiculously over-the-top, yet consistently amusing 2009 comedy that isn't concerned with political correctness, logic, continuity, originality, or realism, but still delivers the laughs. I am classifying in it my "Just put your brain in check and enjoy" file.
The story bears more than a passing resemblance to a 2000 comedy called Dude, Where's my Car?, though it takes the premise of that film to a more detail-oriented level. This film is the story of Doug (Justin Bartha), a guy getting married in a couple of days who takes off to Vegas for a bachelor party with his friends Phil (Bradley Cooper), a married schoolteacher and dad and Stu (Ed Helms), a dentist you can serve on pie he is so whipped by his girlfriend (Rachael Harris), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) an insecure and neurotic mess who has trouble keeping his pants on and is also Doug's soon to be brother-in-law.
The story then cleverly skips over the party itself and as we enter the guys' hotel suite the next morning, we see Stu and Phil passed out on the floor with a chicken crawling over Stu's head, a woman sneaking out of the room, a tiger in the bathroom, and Doug is nowhere to be found. The guys than wake up and actually find a baby in a cabinet.
As the guys venture out to find Doug, further investigation reveals that the guys stole a cop car, that Stu married a hooker (Heather Graham) and that the tiger belongs to former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson.
Though I think I may have already revealed too much, I still think there are plenty of raunchy and unexpected laughs found along the way here. Director Todd Phillips somehow manages to keep a tight rein on Jon Lucas and Scott Moore's screenplay, which really can't stand a lot of scrutiny.
The cast serves the story well with standout work from Galifianakis and Helms and Phillips keeps things moving at a nice pace so that you don't find yourself looking at your watch. Make sure you stay tuned through the closing credits. Looking forward to the sequel.