The Hangover
2009 · Directed by Todd Phillips
Original language: English
- comedy
The story
When three friends finally come to after a raucous night of bachelor-party revelry, they find a baby in the closet and a tiger in the bathroom. But they can't seem to locate their best friend, Doug – who's supposed to be tying the knot. Launching a frantic search for Doug, the trio perseveres through a nasty hangover to try to make it to the church on time.
What it’s like
Bright, sun-blasted Las Vegas daylight spilling through trashed hotel suites, with hand-held camerawork that lurches along with the characters as they reconstruct their missing night. The palette runs from hot desert gold and casino neon to the grimy beige of a ruined room, and the sound is a loose blend of pop and rock needle-drops, cheap hotel-lobby hush and sudden comic silence. It is a loud, scrappy comedy with a sweaty, sleepless energy: a steady run of sharp one-liners, physical mishaps and escalating chaos, held together by a quick-cut rhythm that rarely lets up until the closing stretch. The tone is raucous and mischievous, with a warm undercurrent of male friendship and a little real panic under the jokes. Violence is comic and brief: a few blows, a dazed bloody face, a tiger and a baby as running gags, and some frank drug and sex references, but no real gore and nothing truly cruel. It suits a Friday night with friends, a laugh-out-loud rewatch, or a lighter-hearted evening with a crowd. It is for people who like bawdy, fast comedy with a lot of mess and a soft heart beneath it.
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