The other interesting angle of The Hangover is that instead of focusing on a wild-and-crazy night a la After Hours or John Landis' sadly underrated Into the Night, it deals with the inevitable cleanup after the damage has been done. The guys, who are tenuous pals at best, must all work together in piecing together the night before to locate their friend before the wedding bells chime.
Most of the women in The Hangover are militant shrews, but Heather Graham does deserve a nod as a stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold that plays perfectly to her somewhat limited talents.
It's curious to see if director Phillips can break out of the well-worn path he decides to follow on film (Road Trip was also quite similar thematically, and his attempt to shift gears resulted in the woeful School for Scoundrels), but as long as there are gaggles of men behaving badly in the name of fun, he remains keyed in to that specific demographic.
I am hesitant to go along with some critics who are heralding it as the best comedy of the summer (it's only June, guys — take a breath), but The Hangover is worth noting as the right amount of rocket fuel to propel its leads into the next level of stardom.
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