Has its moments.

Rating: 7/10 (12 April 2012)

To be honest, after the way this movie has been built up, I couldn't help but feel some disappointment as it wasn't as flat out, falling down funny as I was hoping for. That's not to say that there aren't very lively moments, and some genuine laughs to be had, but this isn't really that great. Still, its tremendous success is impossible to deny; obviously it was a crowd pleaser. What it does benefit from is a set of enthusiastic performances by its star trio: Bradley Cooper as Phil, Ed Helms as Stu, and Zach Galifianakis as Alan, as three guys helping the about-to-be-married Doug (Justin Bartha) have the last great wild time of his life in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, what happens is, on the day after, they have no memory of the Hell they raised. All they've got are the end results: a tiger in the bathroom, an adorable infant on the premises, a hotel room in ruins, a missing tooth, Stu's apparent marriage to a stripper named Jade (Heather Graham, looking as foxy as ever), a stolen police car...and, most importantly, the disappearance of the groom. So they're obliged to solve the whole mystery of the night before, with often wacky results. Just to give you an idea, boxing icon Mike Tyson, playing himself, turns up, showing his appreciation for Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight". Some sequences work better than others - among other things, the three guys find themselves roped into participating in a tasing demonstration, and are pursued by a vengeful character named Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong). Todd Phillips, who gave us such other comedies as "Road Trip" and "Old School", is director of these nutty shenanigans, and the gags keep coming right through the end credits, as we finally get to see, through snapshots, bits and pieces of the kinds of things that the guys got up to. Overall, this is certainly lively stuff, with enough chuckles to make for fine viewing, and making the city of Las Vegas a character in its own right, but for this viewer couldn't quite measure up to its reputation. Seven out of 10.