They get to Vegas and begin their celebrations. Following a couple of shots of Jager, we transition to the following morning. They awaken in their hotel room, which has been trashed, to find a burned and smoking couch, a chicken, a missing mattress, and a tiger in the bathroom. On top of that, none of them have any memory of what transpired the night before and Doug is nowhere to be found. Oh yeah, there is also a baby in the closet.
Yes, The Hangover is a comedy, but it is also a rather engrossing mystery. The trio begin trying to piece together the night. With no memories they need to find Doug, figure out how the tiger got in the room, learn where Stu lost a tooth, and why did the valet bring them a police cruiser?
Off they go, gathering clues from the room, an ER doctor, Mike Tyson' security tapes, and a wedding chapel. The clues lead them on an adventure all over Vegas. They have a close encounter with Tyson, meet an angry Chinese guy (discovered in their trunk), and they even get to meet Stu's new stripper, uh, escort wife, Jade (Heather Graham). Each stop brings more laughs than the one prior.
In the wrong hands this movie could have been an utter disaster. The funny thing is, who thought these hands were the right hands? Director Todd Phillips does not have a great track record. I mean, I was not that crazy about earlier outings like Old School or School for Scoundrels, neither of which could have predicted what he pulled off here. Likewise, the writing team of Jon Lucas and Scott Moore had not shown anything like this with credits like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Four Christmases.
The Hangover could just as easily become a series of SNL or MadTV sketches, which only exist to get to the next scene. Rather than taking the easy route, we get a script that is written rather than pieced together from the leftovers of other films. It grows and develops as we move along. The plot develops organically, much like the comedy which allowed to develop organically. This is a seriously funny movie, something I was hoping for but not expecting.
Article comments
1 - Virginia McDowell
Absolutely the best comedy ever! I really enjoyed it as I laughed out loud throughout the whole movie. Well written and superb cast!
A++