The Hangover

Jul 02, 2009
By Laima Vaiga

Directed by Todd Phillips

“The Hangover” is a fast pace comedy with a big dose of humor specially designed for a male audience, but which might be suitable for the ladies as well. The jokes balance on the edge of getting offensive – or silly – at times, but that is probably true for any good comedy that can be evaluated as “hilarious.”

The film features Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha and a glimpse of Heather Graham. Doug is about to walk down the aisle with Tracey – but a few days before getting married he has a bachelor party in Las Vegas. Three groomsmen hit the road with Doug: a very serious and submissive doctor, Stu, a non-serious and libertine schoolteacher, Phil, and a weird future brother-in-law, Alan, who seems to be a clueless big child.

However, an evening in Vegas that starts as a fun all-adult experience accelerates into a trip too wild to remember… The next morning, a pant-less Alan, a toothless Stu and Phil awake in a wrecked hotel villa. They discover they are sharing the room with a tiger, a hen, and a newborn baby – but no trace of Doug is to be found.

What’s worse, the guys have absolutely no memory of the previous night. The groomsmen – each with a horrible hangover – must solve their detective story fast, before the police, Chinese mafia, and Mike Tyson himself gets to them.
It is essentially a movie about male friendship and the transition from free bachelor times to marriage and real adulthood (if that’s ever possible). Even though the film features primarily male characters, the women might find it hilarious too, because the characters and story is catchy and the film avoids chauvinistic jokes.

In fact, the film shows that “the classics” of getting wild and messed up in Vegas is something that anyone can relate to, whatever their gender, color, age, size or profession.
The film is obviously not a family comedy: it’s raunchy, at times rude, and it features some nudity and drug related scenes. Swear words are also abundant. Nevertheless, dark humor lovers should find it hilarious – and perhaps even categorize it as a “classic.”


Now showing in all three Baltic states

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