Director Todd Phillips is able to create a solid comedy out of a bag of old tricks in this summer’s successful The Hangover. See, Phillips is asked to deal with unoriginal, almost bland, material-a trip to vegas, a hangover, a retracing of last night’s steps (we all know the plot). However, he deals with these outdated limbs to make a solid body of a film.
The acting is superb. Bradley Cooper makes a douchebag likable; Ed Helms’ uptight character is genuinely sweet and funny; and Zach Galifianakis’ deadpan delivery is outrageous. These characters are all unique and believable. We all have friends like these.
The timing back and forth between these guys is impeccable, and each characters’ establishment and arc are sufficiently done for a comedy. Most of the peripheral characters, however, were either unnecessary, swept under the rug, or just put in for laughs. Understandable but somewhat tacky.
The plot is episodic in a way. The characters go from one ridiculously far fetched problem to the next. However, Phillips was able to make me believe in it and laugh in the process. How so? He’s able to create a realistic, aged aesthetic. Comedies these days usually have an immature, sitcom-ish tone to them, but The Hangover doesn’t have that. And that’s why the movie’s ridiculousness never gets out of hand.
The Hangover is great to see with a large group. But that’s it. There’s nothing really cathartic or satisfying about the movie, which is a quality other comedies such as 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and even Superbad have no problem being able to hone.Yet, I laughed a lot and had a fun time.
8.5 out of 10
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