There always seems to be a breakout comedy each summer, and without question, Todd Phillips’ The Hangover is that film for 2009. Smart, witty and ribald, this tale of a weekend gone bad in Las Vegas actually gets funnier as it goes along, a rare feat in a genre where features of this sort tend to run in fits and starts or peter out in the end. Not so here, as Phillips and his game crew set out to devastate the audience with humor and succeed again and again.
Phil, Stu and Alan (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) are the unlikely trio that winds up losing their buddy Doug in Sin City two days before his marriage. They set out for a night of fun only to wake up the next morning with no memory of what happened to them, other than the fact that their friend is missing, there’s a baby in the closet of their room, a tiger in the bathroom and a stolen cop car in their possession.
As this trio uses these meager clues to recreate what happened the night before, the film treats us to one hilarious surprise after another. Just when you think things couldn’t get more ridiculous, the film proves you wrong. While some of the circumstances are ridiculous, they’re consistent with the movie’s twisted logic. By the time these guys end up at Mike Tyson’s home looking at security footage of their visit from the night before, you’ll be begging for mercy. Thankfully, Phillips and his crew show none, as they continue to go in for the kill, even through the film’s end credits. Without question, The Hangover is the funniest film of the year and one worth remembering.
