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The Hangover Movie Review

The Hangover is a 2009 comedy film directed by Todd Phillips and starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. It’s a solid, but overly stereotypical flick.

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“She’s got my grandmother’s Holocaust ring!

I didn’t know they gave out rings at the Holocaust“

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For a bachelor party, three best men and the groom take a road trip to Las Vegas. They wake up the next morning to realize that not only have they lost the groom, but also have no recollection of anything that happened the night before. Then, a lot of shenanigans ensue in a typical bromance, male comedy fashion.

I personally like comedies centering on men and bromance, and there is a lot to love here. But there is also a lot to dislike. So, let’s discuss. The bromance was great, it was empowering in some scenes and the dynamic between the characters is terrific. Some scenes are hilarious and their banter was superb throughout.

On the other side of things, I despised the stereotyping of Asians and women. Again, I am not one of those politically correct people that suck joy out of comedies, but there is a difference between South Park-styled, sophisticated stereotyping and the more primitive one. The latter is the case here as the scenes with the Asian man, no matter how memorable, are very dumb and done in poor taste. The same goes for the film’s sexist overtones.

Bradley Cooper is very good here, though obviously typecast. The same goes for Zach Galifianakis, who is this over-the-top character lacking any nuance to his portrayal. Justin Bartha is less memorable and less present, but Ed Helms got the best story arc for sure. Individually, all of these characters aren’t all that well developed, but as a team, they are undeniably a lot of fun.

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The Hangover wasn’t all that engaging at first, but it became so entertaining once the gang was assembled. Then it lost its steam again in the conventional third act, so the second act remains the craziest and the funniest. Some of the dialogue is good, but most of it is very on-the-nose. The same goes for the script. It’s a guilty pleasure movie as it flies by, but it could and should have been so much better.

The Hangover is an over-the-top, unsubtle comedy that is hugely entertaining and quite funny at times, but also very primitive in its stereotyping of Asians and women. The second act is the best part of the movie as this is where we get the craziest and funniest scenes. The dynamic between its characters is also stellar. But overall, the movie needed a better script and stronger dialogue.

My Rating – 3.5

You can get the entire The Hangover trilogy on Amazon.