We went because RottenTomatoes gave it 79% fresh
Written: Jun 17 '09 (Updated Jun 18 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Pretty funny overall. Great character development and interaction. Clever story.
Cons: Will offend some, a few squirm moments, way over the top at the very end.
The Bottom Line: I have given you enough to decide.... Choose well Grasshopper!
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| dad-daughters's Full Review: The Hangover |
This movie is not for the timid, shy, easily embarrased, or religious. In short, be warned if you have issues with crude language, nudity, drug use, or if you have a husband who keeps telling you he has to go to Vegas... for business. If you liked Borat and Animal House and Sideways, you will probably like this movie too. If not....
Some spoilers follow.
I was not sure whether I would like the movie. I did not read any reviews because I wanted to experience it without any preconceptions. Given the title, I clearly knew it would have some "adult" themes, and that whenever four guys decide to bachelor party it up in Vegas, there are likely to be personal issues galore. Was it funny? Yes, quite often. Was it over the top? Yes, but not too often. But one of those over the top moments came during the "slide show" at the end of the film, when I came face to face with an X rated image that I cannot believe was included in an R rated film. I give you fair warning of that one (you will know when to leave the theater when they start looking at the camera images they shot during their night of lost memories, starting with Playboy level nudity and quickly moving down the food chain from there).
Reviews are all over the board, mostly positive, but even those caution the viewer not to go to this movie on a lark. Lets start out with the positive. What makes this film work is the excellent character interaction between the four stars. From the first moments when they are together, it's fun to watch and difficult to predict. Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, and Zach Galifianakis portray four very different friends who share that mysterious male need to be bad every so often. They are an archetypal mix of badness, from the Groom, who virtually disappears for the entire film, and his three friends: the very cool, very bad, the nervous and nerdy p-whipped, and the slighly retarded John Belushi Animal House devil-may-care animal. The makers of this movie understood that the dialogue was top priority, and they do not disappoint. Lines are delivered well and the humor flows naturally.
The story is a simple one, with an interesting twist. It's nothing new to have four guys party hearty in Vegas, but when they can't remember what they did, it becomes more of a mystery to solve. It starts the morning after, when they awake to a totally destroyed $4,000 per night Caesar's Palace Suite (frankly I'm surprised Caesars wants to send a message like this to potential guests--that their suites are cannon fodder, but there you go). They find many curious things when they awake without memory: a chicken, a tiger, a baby in the closet...and their future groom is missing. That's enough for most writers, but the story gets far more bizarre, such as when they have their car brought up by the valet and it's a police cruiser.
They spend the rest of the movie retracing their steps and meet some pretty strange characters and incredible plot lines which take them all over Las Vegas. Each revelation brings more confusion, and like every good Greek comedy, all is revealed at the end, and all is made right. But did I warn you to beware of that final "slide show"?
I hesitate to give too much of the plot away, as you will enjoy it more if you have to unravel the mystery with them. Suffice it to say that these "3 Stooges" provide plenty of comic relief, but the Las Vegas Police force does not come off too well. The "police" scenes were sort of a rip off of Police Academy, where the officers were more like caricatures than law enforcement personnel. In exchange for being let go without charges, the three stars agree to be used for a live demonstration of tazer guns. I think what bothered me most about this scene is the way children were portrayed as willing participants in what could only be described as torture and abuse. If I had been writing this script, I would have had our group taken before a judge where their ribald interactions might have been pretty amusing. But they needed to get back on the road again, and having written them into a corner, we needed a magic solution to get them out of their felonies without being stuck in jail.
I've mentioned this before, but I do so again. There are acts of violence that would be fatal in real life. One notable example is when they find the man in their trunk. Upon release, he hits our guys in the head and abdomen with a crowbar. They suffer only a few minutes are then back on their way. I shudder to think that someone might actually do such a thing not understanding how serious it is to be struck in the head with a full swing of a metal bar. Similarly, there is scene where an SUV is driven right into the side door area of our wayward boys' small car. This impact would have caused serious injury. There is a trend in movies lately to portray severe violence without severe injuries.
If there are any messages in this film, they are just barely under the surface. The nerdy p-whipped character is treated so badly by his girlfriend that we almost want him to behave "like a man"--whatever that means. The super cool 'bad' boy claims that his marriage is empty and only suckers get married, so he feels justified. But the groom seems to have a normal relationship, and she is pretty good with the whole thing, so you wonder why he would want to hang with potentially troublesome companions. The movie does not preach or promote, but sort of presents a mirror to society. I think what you take into this movie will be what you see as a moral, if any is to be found.
Thanks for reading.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Funny Movie
Viewing Method: Sneak Preview at My Local Theater
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Ending
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Epinions.com ID:
dad-daughters
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Member: Dan
Location: Southern California USA
Reviews written: 79
Trusted by: 29 members
About Me:
Finally, my reviews outnumber my age...
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