Claim: Bradley Cooper appeared in a movie.

The Hangover is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips , co-produced with Daniel Goldberg , and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore . The film stars Bradley Cooper , Ed Helms , Zach Galifianakis , Heather Graham , Ken Jeong , Rachael Harris , Mike Epps , Justin Bartha , and Jeffrey Tambor . It tells the story of Phil Wenneck , Stu Price , Alan Garner , and Doug Billings , who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party to celebrate Doug 's impending marriage . However , Phil , Stu and Alan wake up with Doug missing and no memory of the previous night 's events , and must find the groom before the wedding can take place .   Lucas and Moore wrote the script after executive producer Chris Bender 's friend disappeared and had a large bill after being sent to a strip club . After Lucas and Moore sold it to the studio for $ 2 million , Philips and Jeremy Garelick rewrote the script to include a tiger as well as a subplot involving a baby and a police cruiser , and also including boxer Mike Tyson . Filming took place in Nevada for 15 days , and during filming , the three main actors -LRB- Cooper , Helms , and Galifianakis -RRB- formed a real friendship .   The Hangover was released on June 5 , 2009 , and was a critical and commercial success . The film became the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2009 , with a worldwide gross of over $ 467 million . The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy , and received multiple other accolades . It is the tenth-highest-grossing worldwide film of 2009 , as well as the second highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the United States , surpassing a record previously held by Beverly Hills Cop for almost 25 years . Out of all R-rated films , it is the six-highest-grossing ever in the U.S. , behind only The Passion of the Christ , The Matrix Reloaded , Ted , American Sniper , and Deadpool .   A sequel , The Hangover Part II , was released on May 26 , 2011 , and a third and final installment , The Hangover Part III , was released on May 23 , 2013 .