Hilarious film

Rating: 8/10 (23 July 2012)

The Hangover is a comedy that is centered on four friends. Doug is about to get married and the four friends head to Las Vegas to celebrate Doug's impending marriage. These friends are Doug, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifinakis), who is the future bride's brother. They are headed to Las Vegas for Doug's bachelor party. After a heavy drug-induced night of partying Phil, Stu, and Alan awake to find that Doug is missing. The men then run around Las Vegas trying to locate their friend. The entire adventure is filled with chaos and action. Throughout the adventure they piece together their night while simultaneously running into absurd situations. Phi and Stu also learn that Alan gave them all roofies, which lead to their inability to remember anything that happened the previous night.
Although in the end all four men become friends, this was not true in the beginning. Alan is the odd man out. Yet throughout the film he begins to fit in with Phil and Stu. It is truly a movie about the bonds of friendship in the most comedic sense possible mixed with adventure and action. Consider the very final scene after Doug gets married where they all gather around the camera to see the pictures of their mysterious night. It symbolized the growth of their relationships. They had overcome the most extreme of circumstances because of their bonds. Granted the object is more to entertain than anything else, I would certainly argue that the director was not emphasizing the bonds of friendship.
In a way this film reminded me of Old School. These films are both comedies and considered cult classics. In Old School a group of friends came together to overcome very tough circumstances. Their bonds kept them together and in the end they overcame their obstacles.
One motif that I spotted in the film is Stu's missing tooth. Throughout the movie every time we see Stu we are reminded of the craziness and impulsiveness of this film. It represents the chaos that surrounds this film. It could also represent the obstacles that Stu, Phil, and Alan face in their quest to locate Doug.
I felt the soundtrack for this film was very appropriate as well. Much of the focus is on the action. So much is going on and the film keeps moving on at a rapid pace. The music helps to facilitate that mood of jam-packed action. It was also appropriate that Alan sang a song about the "Three best friends that anybody could have". It signified the growing friendships within the group after their disastrous bachelor party.