Showing posts with label The Hangover. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Hangover. Show all posts
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Hangover Discussion
Hey want to see Jordan and Sam bicker about things that a normal person would just brush off and go "whatever"? Check out the discussion in the comments section of this post.
Sam's Review: The Hangover
No one will confuse the new Todd Phillips movie, The Hangover, for high art. The man who directed Old School stuck to what he knew funny frat humor. The premise of the movie is that four buddies go to Las Vegas for an awesome bachelor party and that’s what they get. Except when they wake up they can’t remember a thing, and they can’t find the groom-to-be named Doug (Justin Bartha). So it’s up to his friends Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and his future brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifinakis).
So the plot isn’t that deep, but it doesn’t need to be. The plot is perfect for comedy in that they have to retread their night and uncover the crazy shit they did the night before. They find out they stole a tiger, Stu got married to a hooker (Heather Graham) (oh yeah Stu has a “only in the movies” bitchy girlfriend at home), and loads of other wacky stuff.
While the main characters of the story fall into pretty standard archetypes (the uptight dentist who is his girlfriend’s whipping boy, the cocky jerk, the crazy guy) they all work. The character that probably made the film was Galifinakis’ Alan character who is just fucking nuts and an implied child predator. The part was clearly written for Galifinakis and anyone who is familiar with his stand-up act knows that he always seems to have the persona of someone who always seems not quite there. In fact this quality of Galifinakis makes him probably the most brilliant comedy force in the movie. It’s clear that Phillips gave his actors some leeway when it came to improvisation. Alan gives a speech on the roof of the hotel that is clearly improvised (and funny).
Ed Helms also does a great job as Stu, the dentist. Helms seems to be bringing a more vulgar and less socially challenged version of his character Andy Bernard from The Office. This is a welcome addition to the film. Bradley Cooper’s role I felt could have just as easily been played by Vince Vaughn and played to more laughs but it seems this is who they had in mind. He was chosen likely because he is great at playing an asshole (Wedding Crashers). Here though he is an asshole, who’s also a friend. There’s also some pretty decent cameos in the film like Mike Tyson which many people have seen in the trailer. There are also some less publicized ones like The Daily Show’s Rob Riggle, UCB’s Matt Walsh, Mike Epps, and an Apatow regular Ken
Jeong. They all are pretty successful in their short bits in the film.
These types of movies are not about how they end. The ending to this movie is perfectly predictable and how the character’s relationships change is also incredibly predictable. But that’s not the point. The fun of these movies is the ride you go on. My expectations going into to this movie were somewhere in the middle. I thoroughly enjoyed Old School but I was still wary. At the end of the day this movie provided a lot of laughs and provided a good time. It’s the type of movie that’s more fun to watch with a couple of buddies. So if you’re looking for a good time at the movies you should check out The Hangover.
B+
So the plot isn’t that deep, but it doesn’t need to be. The plot is perfect for comedy in that they have to retread their night and uncover the crazy shit they did the night before. They find out they stole a tiger, Stu got married to a hooker (Heather Graham) (oh yeah Stu has a “only in the movies” bitchy girlfriend at home), and loads of other wacky stuff.
While the main characters of the story fall into pretty standard archetypes (the uptight dentist who is his girlfriend’s whipping boy, the cocky jerk, the crazy guy) they all work. The character that probably made the film was Galifinakis’ Alan character who is just fucking nuts and an implied child predator. The part was clearly written for Galifinakis and anyone who is familiar with his stand-up act knows that he always seems to have the persona of someone who always seems not quite there. In fact this quality of Galifinakis makes him probably the most brilliant comedy force in the movie. It’s clear that Phillips gave his actors some leeway when it came to improvisation. Alan gives a speech on the roof of the hotel that is clearly improvised (and funny).
Ed Helms also does a great job as Stu, the dentist. Helms seems to be bringing a more vulgar and less socially challenged version of his character Andy Bernard from The Office. This is a welcome addition to the film. Bradley Cooper’s role I felt could have just as easily been played by Vince Vaughn and played to more laughs but it seems this is who they had in mind. He was chosen likely because he is great at playing an asshole (Wedding Crashers). Here though he is an asshole, who’s also a friend. There’s also some pretty decent cameos in the film like Mike Tyson which many people have seen in the trailer. There are also some less publicized ones like The Daily Show’s Rob Riggle, UCB’s Matt Walsh, Mike Epps, and an Apatow regular Ken
Jeong. They all are pretty successful in their short bits in the film.
These types of movies are not about how they end. The ending to this movie is perfectly predictable and how the character’s relationships change is also incredibly predictable. But that’s not the point. The fun of these movies is the ride you go on. My expectations going into to this movie were somewhere in the middle. I thoroughly enjoyed Old School but I was still wary. At the end of the day this movie provided a lot of laughs and provided a good time. It’s the type of movie that’s more fun to watch with a couple of buddies. So if you’re looking for a good time at the movies you should check out The Hangover.
B+
Jordan's Review: The Hangover
The Hangover, the new film by Old School director Todd Phillips, tells the extremely original story of four guys heading to Vegas for a bachelor party. The gang is all there—The pretty flat, personality-less groom (Justin Bartha), the “player” who is just out to have a good time (Bradley Cooper), the weird guy (Zach Galifianakis) and the geeky guy trapped in a relationship with an overbearing woman and afraid to let go (Ed Helms). It’s pretty much the characters from Old School going to a bachelor party instead of starting a fraternity.
Sadly this movie lacks most of the things that make Old School such a great comedy. Bradley Cooper is clearly this film’s Vince Vaughan, yet he forgets to imbue his character with anything near the effortless charm that backed Vaughan’s performance and made his smarminess seem oddly lovable—by contrast Cooper’s Phil is just a douche bag who leaves his wife at home without a thought or a mention to get drunk, and likely get laid, by random women in Vegas. Ed Helms is obviously taking over the Will Ferrell role, yet where Ferrell’s Frank was lovably aloof, Helms’ Stu is often just annoyingly up-tight. And it’s not saying anything groundbreaking to suggest that Justin Bartha is no Luke Wilson.
The shining star of the cast is without a doubt Galiafianakis, whose Alan is eccentric beyond belief, and has no idea how to fit in with the frat-ish antics going on around him. He defines himself as a “lone wolf” who has now made his pack three wolves larger. He’s far too oblivious to see that he was brought along to be nice, and Galiafianakis allows him to be in equal parts endearing and creepy, lovable and utterly insane. Without Alan, the movie would easily sink into a cesspool of obviousness and telegraphed jokes.
The plot really gets started when Phil, Stu, and Alan wake up in their suite with a chicken, a blow up doll, a tiger, and no Doug. Their friend is missing, his wedding is in one day, and they have no memory of the previous night. The set-up is pretty much Dude Where’s My Car? in Vegas and with an extra guy along for the ride. What the film lacks in originality it attempts to make up for in flat out hilarity, and in succeeds in places. A subplot involving a baby found in the room (and dubbed “Carlos” by Alan), his stripper/escort of a mother (played humorously by Heather Graham) and her marriage to the “unlikeliest” character brings far more laughs than another involving two taze-happy cops which feels like the most predictable string of jokes imaginable. I also have to confess to enjoying a cameo-cum-subplot from Mike Tyson more than I probably should have.
Another of the film’s flaws is that Phil, Stu, and Doug never feel like the lifelong friends we are meant to believe they are. Additionally, Stu’s shrew of a girlfriend (Rachael Harris) feels every inch the cliché she is—there is no conceivable reason for her to be such an emasculating bitch except for to allow Stu the chance to grow as a character in the film’s single most predictable arc (which is saying something).
That’s not to say there is no good, however. The film keeps the laughs coming pretty regularly throughout its running time. There is never a dull moment, even if some of the jokes do feel a little stale. And while the movie doesn’t have a whole lot to love, there isn’t much to hate there either—while it doesn’t always succeed, it does always try convincingly and it deserves some credit for that. I consistently laughed throughout the movie, more than I expected to, and maybe more than I’d like to admit. The movie is predictable, poorly developed, and pretty funny on the whole. It may not light your year on fire, but it’s definitely not the worst thing you could do with 100 minutes on a hot summer day.
Grade: B-
Sadly this movie lacks most of the things that make Old School such a great comedy. Bradley Cooper is clearly this film’s Vince Vaughan, yet he forgets to imbue his character with anything near the effortless charm that backed Vaughan’s performance and made his smarminess seem oddly lovable—by contrast Cooper’s Phil is just a douche bag who leaves his wife at home without a thought or a mention to get drunk, and likely get laid, by random women in Vegas. Ed Helms is obviously taking over the Will Ferrell role, yet where Ferrell’s Frank was lovably aloof, Helms’ Stu is often just annoyingly up-tight. And it’s not saying anything groundbreaking to suggest that Justin Bartha is no Luke Wilson.
The shining star of the cast is without a doubt Galiafianakis, whose Alan is eccentric beyond belief, and has no idea how to fit in with the frat-ish antics going on around him. He defines himself as a “lone wolf” who has now made his pack three wolves larger. He’s far too oblivious to see that he was brought along to be nice, and Galiafianakis allows him to be in equal parts endearing and creepy, lovable and utterly insane. Without Alan, the movie would easily sink into a cesspool of obviousness and telegraphed jokes.
The plot really gets started when Phil, Stu, and Alan wake up in their suite with a chicken, a blow up doll, a tiger, and no Doug. Their friend is missing, his wedding is in one day, and they have no memory of the previous night. The set-up is pretty much Dude Where’s My Car? in Vegas and with an extra guy along for the ride. What the film lacks in originality it attempts to make up for in flat out hilarity, and in succeeds in places. A subplot involving a baby found in the room (and dubbed “Carlos” by Alan), his stripper/escort of a mother (played humorously by Heather Graham) and her marriage to the “unlikeliest” character brings far more laughs than another involving two taze-happy cops which feels like the most predictable string of jokes imaginable. I also have to confess to enjoying a cameo-cum-subplot from Mike Tyson more than I probably should have.
Another of the film’s flaws is that Phil, Stu, and Doug never feel like the lifelong friends we are meant to believe they are. Additionally, Stu’s shrew of a girlfriend (Rachael Harris) feels every inch the cliché she is—there is no conceivable reason for her to be such an emasculating bitch except for to allow Stu the chance to grow as a character in the film’s single most predictable arc (which is saying something).
That’s not to say there is no good, however. The film keeps the laughs coming pretty regularly throughout its running time. There is never a dull moment, even if some of the jokes do feel a little stale. And while the movie doesn’t have a whole lot to love, there isn’t much to hate there either—while it doesn’t always succeed, it does always try convincingly and it deserves some credit for that. I consistently laughed throughout the movie, more than I expected to, and maybe more than I’d like to admit. The movie is predictable, poorly developed, and pretty funny on the whole. It may not light your year on fire, but it’s definitely not the worst thing you could do with 100 minutes on a hot summer day.
Grade: B-
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