A Real Man's Film

Rating: 9/10 (25 December 2017)

Under the direction from Todd Phillips, "The Hangover" truly personifies what it's really like to be a man (in its assets and liabilities). Comedies have personified men in ways where they can be seen as overly melancholy or too crude in their demeanour, but Phillips like he did with "Old School" and "Starsky and Hutch", here he knows his psychology towards the male gender without making by avoiding the traps of making them fun-loving, vulnerable and yet sincere. What makes Phillips successful as a director is his sincerity, even when his films don't always score high at the box office. o me "The Hangover" is one of the funniest films of 2009.
When you think about it most men behave the way that the characters in this movie are depicted. They can be crude, eccentric, and macabre in nature, especially when they are on the road together. While at the same time, they could be juvenile in their wild sexual urges, but also nourishing once they've settled in. But the reality is hat most men especially the married ones would rather feel comfort bonding and opening up to other men over their wives, to get a better understanding of what it's like to be a guy and to solidify their role as an alpha male.
The simple plot of "The Hangover" is about four friends who venture off to Las Vegas partying off like there's no tomorrow...only to wake up hungover and blanked out about the events that happened yesterday only to find their hotel trashed, an abandoned baby, a Bengal tiger roaming around loosely and chickens scattered all over the suite. To be blunt something doesn't quite add up.
An early scene describes the importance of male-bonding. We have one of the four guys named Stu (Ed Helms), a well disciplined dentist who is living with a self-absorbed control freak girlfriend named Melissa (Rachael Harris), whom he plans on marrying. She finds it uncouth that he's hanging out with his friends even though she think they're going to Napa Valley to indulge in wine testing. In her eyes, Melissa believes that men are practically disobedient women who need female partner to set them on the straight and narrow. But in reality, Stu being more level-headed than the other guys just really wants to socailize with someone of his gender.
The events that proceed might turn into the worst two days of their lives while at the same it's also the best two days of their lives. While the well-disciplined Stu hangs out with his three friends, which are Doug (Justin Bartha), the groom-to-be who's very protective of the Mercedes his father-in-law lent him (Oy vey!) Then there's Phil (Bradley Cooper) a cool customer who's not very comfortable about being domestic. And then you have Alan (Zach Galifianakis), Doug's future brother-in-law who steals the show as their simple friend who's there for the ride, but has well intentions.
The opening scenes in "The Hangover" are funny not only in the situations these characters are facing, but the dialogue is also both clever and witty. Phillips along with screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore call all in the humour that at times boarders on grotesque (one characters serves his breakfast with a side of vomit) but it fits well into the story. These are just average guys who just want to have fun, although they found it more complex than they could imagine because it's harder to have fun when you're older than compared to when you were a teenager. By the time they wake up, Stu's front tooth was extracted, Phil is seen sporting a hospital bracelet around his waist and Doug is MIA. The fun was sweet but the hangover is the least of their problems.
The search for Doug gives the gang a reason for staying their welcome in Vegas and helps the story flow quite naturally. As they come to their senses, the gang start to realize how everything turned out the ay it did and will stop at nothing to correct themselves and their situations.
The weak areas of the film come during the last act where the comical factors get watered down. But it never loses its focus or meanders off in another genre. It's a dark comedy that stays true to its genre. Many sitcoms and other comedy movies can learn a thing or two from "The Hangover".
In its duration, the crew from "The Hangover" took the liberties to offer the film with vulgar and tasteless jokes and scenarios and outrageously deliver plot twists that unpredictably come from out of nowhere. Just when they think they got everything under control, they pull back, which is not all that bad. "The Hangover" is movie that never delves into anything remotely horrible, but rather the horrible events they encountered that created memories that could pass on to their kids when they're older.