RATED R: Pervasive strong language, sexual humor and content, nudity, comedic violence
Directed by Todd Phillips, Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas should be the theme of this very funny comedy from director Todd Phillips (Old School, Road Trip). The premise is, of course, a bachelor party in Vegas gone awry, as the groom goes missing during the drunken partying. A school teacher, (Bradley Cooper), a nerdy dentist (Ed Helms) and the quirky bride-to-be's brother (Galifianakis) wake up the next morning to find their hotel suite trashed, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, and the would-be groom missing.
What makes this movie clever is that you never actually witness the indiscretions on screen. As the 3 can't remember what they did last night, and find their groom missing, the audience is brought into the meat of the plot and events as the characters start piecing the clues together themselves. It is refreshing that this movie doesn't beat you down with cheap sex jokes, but layers them in with humorous dialogue and situations between the 3 friends. The great comedies appeal to high and low brow, and The Hangover pulls it off nicely, as director Phillips knows just when to pull back when it seems things are getting out of hand.
The film is a buddy road trip movie, but it goes much deeper than that, as The three characters Alan (Galifianakis), Phil (Cooper) and Stu (Helms) really get to know each other during their trials in Vegas, and come to depend on each other for the sake of getting the groom to his wedding on time. Each man comes away having learned something about himself. Heather Graham appears as a stripper, and Mike Tyson has a very funny cameo. The ensemble cast plays brilliantly off of each other, as almost every line in the movie delivers a laugh.
All in all, take this Las vegas trip and get ready to have fun. Highly recommended. My rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars.
Great review, Bluff!
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