SNMR 7.30: "The Hangover"

GREEN'S "...AT THE CORNER OF GET A MAP AND..." REVIEW:

What would happen if your best friend was getting married and for his bachelor party you decide to spend a few days in Las Vegas, living the nightlife? What would happen if you woke up the next morning on the floor in your $4200.00 per night hotel suite and couldn't remember a damn thing? What if the groom to be was missing when you woke up?

Meet Doug, the soon to be groom (Justin Bartha), Al (Zach Galifianakis), the not all with it but soon to be brother in law, Phil (Bradley Cooper), the normal looking school teacher, and Stu (Ed Helms), the man with the bitch for a girlfriend. These four friends plan such a trip and have to piece together the events from the night before to get home before the wedding. But not before...

I remember seeing the trailers for this film last summer in the theater and it looked like a really funny movie. But as usual I never got around to seeing it until a few days ago.

What a long way the career of Bradley Cooper (who really got his start in the television show ALIAS, Ed Helms (from The Office) and Zach Galifianakis, who I'd never heard of before are also very funny. Quirky Heather Graham was a perfect casting choice for Jade but the writers could have given her character more to do.

The screenplay did have it's funny moments but it seemed like we saw them all, or most of them, in the theater trailers. Now, after seeing the movie they all make sense.

The problem with this film its that it ends just a little too conveniently as if the writers suddenly ran out of material. What baffled the cast for the majority of the movie was solved too easily. Now we know that acting stupid and causing so much damage has no negative consequences! Sign me up for a trip to Las Vegas, right. now.

I'm not really familiar with director Todd Phillps previous credits but he seems to have done a good job with this movie, as the story doesn't really have time to sag anywhere. Could have easily extended the run time of the film another 10-15 minutes and you wouldn't think it were too much.

I watched the single disc edition which had no extras but it was what the library had. I'd like to have seen what weirdness was included and maybe I will some day.

***½ out of *****

The Hangover (2009, R, 100 minutes), starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey Tambor. Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore. Directed by Todd Phillips.