The Hangover

The Hangover (2009)



When I first saw the previews for this film I honestly was unimpressed. A few of my friends however thought it looked funny so I decided to give it a try. After all, its from the makers of Old School so it had to be gold, right? WRONG. It turns out I was 100% right. This is the most overhyped comedy in the past few years for sure.

The entire movie is an amalgamation of previously done, cliche jokes and premises. In short, The Hangover is a mixture of Dude Where's My Car, Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, and Superbad. The only difference is that it is not funny. It is a Superbad for the 30 year old, and the jokes try too hard to be vulgar, thus voiding its comedy. The soundtrack is MTV's Total Request Live in movie form, and is quite nauseating when mixed with premises that are even more trite. I found myself sitting there halfway through the movie already wishing it was over. Movies shouldn't make you feel that way - especially comedies!

The movie however does have a shining star in up-and-coming comedian Zach Galifianakis. The movie is held together by his timing and comedic genius. If it is necessary for you to watch The Hangover, he will keep you laughing and entertained. The rest, however, is simply a waste of time.

Only this high because of Galifianakis.

Edited your post to include the popcorn rating. You can do this by using the [rating]0, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 or 5[*rating].

Of course, you won't include all of those numbers, just one of them and replace the * with a /.

__________________
"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg

Thanks...I was really trying hard to figure that out. What a noob. lol

interesting alternative opinion of the film. It actually beat out Land of the Lost in the box office - although that's not saying much except that the performance of Galifianakis held its own. But me and my family watched Up.

__________________
Signature removed for violating MovieForums.com site rules

Yep Galifianakis was the only reason I'd ever watch this ...

__________________

I still really want to see it, and hopefully I'll get to it sometime this weekend. This is actually the first negative review for it I've seen; all the other reviews I've seen has been pretty damn good, actually.

I laughed the whole way through, enjoyed it very much. It even has visual nods to Scorsese's Casino and a whole Rain Man bit that are very well done.

__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Tried to see this on Sunday, but the showing was sold out -- on a Sunday night! Thought about going again, but decided to wait until the lady friend's back in town. Definitely seems like the kind of flick you'd want to see with others. I'll definitely be catching it this weekend.

By all means once you guys have seen it post here and let me know what you think. Im open to all opinions

__________________
Latest Review: The Ugly Truth

If nothing else, this film has given people an opportunity to appreciate Zach Galifinakis, whom I find hilarious. Here's a great vid he made with Fiona Apple of all people (I also like how the intro & vid itself help diminish the mistaken notion that Fiona herself is humorless and dour):



(I don't know how to do the fancy thing where the link is also a still from the clip.)

__________________
the angel stayed until something died, one more murder suicide

Thanks for that clip Meat.

*kicks over plant*

Write that down....

__________________
"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

The Hangover

After a wild bachelor party, 3 friends wake up in a destroyed room and discover that their friend, the groom, is missing. Now they must re-trace their steps from the night that they can't remember in order to get him back to the wedding the next day.

This premise is just an excuse for some wild and random comedic scenarios, such as having a tiger be in your bathroom when you wake up. The joy of watching this film is seeing just how many crazy things come next, all of which the characters have no memory of. What makes The Hangover work so well, is not just those random comedic scenarios, but the cast that blended so well together. Specifically Zach Galifianakis, whom has been the audience favourite.

As the film progresses, the characters find themselves getting into some serious situations due to their antics the night before. I want say what happens, as each one if funny and should be watched with surprise. It easy to say that this film will not bore you. It does have a particular comedic style though and you can judge yourself if you'll be into it or not from the trailer.

Todd Phillips, of Oldschool fame, has his funniest movie here. Both Road Trip and Oldschool were good, yet were missing something that made me really love it. The Hangover has this something. It's not a teen comedy (road trip) nor is it a star powered film (old school). It uses familiar faces that make you go "I've seen him before" but never do these actors overshadow the film. Had it of been a bigger name cast it wouldn't have worked so well.

The three friends are played by Ed Helms, the uptight dentist, Bradley Cooper, the suave smooth talker, and Zach Galifianakis, the odd brother in law. The groom is played by Justin Bartha, the National Treasure sidekick. It's easy to say the Galifianakis steals the show. It's obvious he will garner more roles from this, I just hope he doesn't get pigeon-holed into this style. He reminds me of Chi McBride and I want him to branch out before it's too late (Michael Cera). Helms and Cooper also hold up nicely, I'm familiar with Helms from The Office and Daily Show fame and Cooper from previous films has always been likable. Bartha isn't in the film that much, since most of it is them looking for the guy.

The Hangover also doesn't suffer from the one thing that seems to kill so many comedies. Over exposed trailer. Yes we've all seen the Mike Tyson bit, but the film has so many random bits of comedy that you will enjoy yourself throughout the running time. If the film does fault, it's with the character of Mr. Chow. I like Ken Jeong, but here he plays the character way over the top and it becomes distracting. Heather Graham makes an appearance as well and as she does with almost every role she takes on, you see her boobies. Well, one boob.

The film is funny, I was entertained, and I expect to see good things from Galifianakis. It's vulgar and obscene and don't expect to see much heart near the end or a good message, like Apatow films do. While it does have that one scene in which one character stands up for himself, it doesn't try to throw any real messages out the audience.

Make sure you stay for the first bit of the credits, as the laughs don't stop.

I really want to see this movie it does look good, cheers for your opinions dude

__________________

~In the event of a Zombie Uprising, remember to sever the head or destroy the brain!~

I liked it. It was no Super Troopers or Classic Dumb & Dumber... but it had its moments. I liked the songs, and the little asian man!

I've never seen that as a positive.

Ahh the lack of respect for Super Troopers is amazing. I love that movie.

What's that you saidmeow?

Agreed. I'd like to hear the type of comedies that ARE funny, if you don't like Super Troopers.

"How's the view from SUGAR HEAVEN SWEET HEART?!?!?!"

Here's my review:

I really enjoyed this movie. One of the best comedies I've seen in a while.