Lets get crazy, lets get nuts.

Rating: 10/10 (31 October 2010)

Debuting in 2009, The Hangover is a masterpiece of comedy by director Todd Phillips. The Hangover results in a comical chemical reaction as Bradley Cooper (Phil), Ed Helms (Stu), Zach Galifianakis (Alan), and Justin Bartha (Doug) descend on Las Vegas, Nevada for Doug's bachelor party.
As the title alludes to, the mayhem doesn't start until the morning after. As Phil, Stu, and Alan go on a roller-coaster ride through the streets of Vegas, dealing with an assortment of characters piecing the night before together in search of Doug who has gone missing. Inevitably proving that bachelor parties can get out of had and that friendship can be indelible. This movie truly was a non-stop, laugh out loud success!! Phil, Stu, and Alan are on a race against time to find their friend Doug the groomsman before the weekend ends. As they recover from the chemicals of the night before they must face orthodontic issues, a baby , a wild animal, a heavy weight champion, irate officers and various other mishaps in search of their buddy.
The Hangover puts me in mind a movie filmed over a decade earlier starring Christian Slater and Cameron Diaz entitled Very Bad Things. Very Bad Things was a much darker comedy and in addition a crime- thriller, a group of friends head to Las Vegas for a bachelor party and the drama unfolds. Like The Hangover, Very Bad Things proves that bachelor parties can get out of had and that friendship can be indelible. In both movies partying gets extremely out of control and the friends have unforgettable moments.
In The Hangover lighting, make-up work ,and off-screen or invisible sounds were effectively employed to enlarge the boundaries of the visual frame. These combined elements create mood and atmosphere in The Hangover that recreates the urgent feeling expressed throughout the film in which the three friends Phil, Stu and Alan race against the clock to piece together the events of the night before and find Doug.
There are plenty of movies out there with bachelor parties gone awry and the indelibleness of friendship as the theme. However, I haven't seen a movie in a long time that has kept me laughing out loud from one well crafted scene to the next. From the beginning to the end The Hangover takes the audience on a hysterically action packed ride of endurance and camaraderie. Never have I seen a move that has the characters play so well off of one another. Phil, Stu, and Alan are wonderful together. The Hangover is phenomenally funny!!