From nowhere to Las Vegas and answered the funniest questions ever asked

Rating: 8/10 (24 May 2011)

The Vegas comedy done right. Mostly because "The Hangover" is actually funny. Very funny. As the guys start out on their bachelor party trip to Las Vegas we quickly get a sense of how funny this will be because of the sense of humour the characters have. Phil (Bradley Cooper) is completely unscrupulous, but that's okay he's only a school teacher. Alan (Zach Galifianakis) thinks the prospect of killing someone or being killed is absolutely hilarious.
Their tame night becomes morning and questions need to be answered. In order of increasing severity: Whose baby is in the mini-fridge? Why is there a tiger in the bathroom? Will Alan put his pants on? And where is Doug? Finding Doug will answer the other questions but it will also take all day and all night and raise more questions that need answering.
This works because we want to find the answers. The questions which we start with are just so outrageous, original and intriguing that we know they will be funny. Along the way we also want to find Doug. He's the sane and normal one so surely our world will be righted once we find him.
"The Hangover" achieved greatness because people weren't expecting it. Hollywood didn't produce it, so to the masses, it came out of nowhere. It made Bradley Cooper a movie star, Zach Galifianakis a fearless comedian and gave Ed Helms the respect he deserved. I'm hoping Part II will do the same for Justin Bartha, but it's hard to come out of nowhere after Hollywood has hyped it for two years.