The Hangover is hilarious

Rating: 9/10 (25 October 2012)

Doug Billings is getting ready to marry his beautiful bride Tracy Garner in this comedic adventure directed by Todd Phillips. Before the wedding takes place, Doug and three of his friends plan a one night bachelor party in Las Vegas. Everyone knows what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas and this movie is the definition of that statement. The movie begins with Phil Wenneck calling Doug's bride to be from a remote desert location. Phil looks like he has been beat to a pulp and he informs Tracy that they have lost Doug. The conversation ends abruptly and we are taken back in time to Phil and his soon to be brother-in-law getting fitted for tuxedos. Doug and Alan discuss their trip to Las Vegas and the movie proceeds with the introduction of Doug's bachelor part attendees. Stu Price, who loves to be called "Doctor Price" because he is a dentist, is introduced while packing his bags for Vegas. His wife is very condescending and controlling and Stu's friends have no shame in pointing this out. Stu convinces his wife they are going on a wine tasting tour, the guys show up to pick him up, and away we go to pick up Phil. Phil is a teacher by day and a party animal by night. The guys are all together and ready to head to Vegas. Once the crew arrives in Vegas they get settled in their hotel room and decide to go to the rooftop to have a toast before the night begins. Alan gives a wolf pack speech addressing how happy he is to have new members in his pack. The guys throw back a few shots and the scene cuts to a destroyed hotel room, everyone slowly waking up with a hangover, and Doug nowhere to be found. The hotel room has a lovely tiger in the bathroom that was acquired the previous night, which, by the way, nobody has any recollection of. Alan, Phil and Stu are on a mission to find Doug because his wedding is the next day. Director Todd Phillips takes us on a hilarious ride with Alan, Phil and Stu trying to figure out what happened the night before and where they left Doug.
The theme of this movie revolves around the theme of getting drunk, the effects of drugs, and what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. The guys go on wild ride which we are engulfed in the entire movie. The editor makes good use of montages to take us through the night that happened but nobody can remember. Alan, Stu, and Phil discover a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, chickens running amuck and their man of the hour missing in action. As the movie progresses there is good use of transition with music. The editor does a fine job tying scenes together with musical bridges that are unobtrusive to the flow of the movie. This movie also makes good use of camera angle to get the viewer in the scene. A hand-held camera angle is used in one scene where Stu is looking around frantically for Doug. Stu is in a state of confusion and feeling a heavy hangover. The camera angle is a great tie in to the theme because it depicts what can happen in Las Vegas if you let your inhibitions run wild. Todd Phillips has made several movies with a theme dealing with partying hard and getting in to trouble.
Todd Phillips also directed the movie Old School with Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughn. This is another hilarious comedy that involves drinking, making poor decisions, but having fun every step of the way. The Hangover does an excellent job using crude dialogue to keep the viewer on their toes. Phil, Alan and Stu represent what happens to a lot of bachelor party attendees when they are let loose in Vegas. The dialogue is relevant to the relationships the guys have with each other and to the situations played out in the movie.
The idea of getting incredibly drunk and unknowingly taking drugs is portrayed with a great comedic twist in The Hangover. There may be several bachelor party movies where something goes wrong but this movie is one that will last through the passage of time. Director Todd Phillips was able to take a common plot and put twists and turns throughout the movie to keep the viewer guessing as to what really happened that night. Spoiler alert! The movie ends with a hilarious montage of photos on a digital camera that Alan found in the back seat of his dad's car. Finally, our guessing is over, and the events that took place do not disappoint.