Starring:
Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Sasha Barrese, Ken Jeong, Jeffrey Tambor and Mike Tyson

Director:
Todd Phillips

Running Time:
100 mins

Out to buy on Blu-Ray/DVD 07/12/09

• Takes a premise that most people can relate them and takes it to the extreme
• Very funny with some laugh out loud moments
• An excellent cast that is distracted by a big comedy name

• Could be a little too over the top for some

 

"Would you please put some pants on? I feel weird having to ask you twice."

When Phil (Cooper), Stu (Helms) and Alan (Galifianakis) wake up the night after Doug's (Bartha) bachelor party in Las Vegas, they discover that their hotel suite looks like a bomb has hit it, there is a chicken running around, a tiger in the bathroom and a baby in the closet. If that wasn't bad enough, the three of them are missing the most important member of their party, the groom-to-be himself, Doug. The problem is that none of them remember what happened the night before and now they have to figure it out or Doug will miss his wedding.

The American comedy has had a renaissance at the box office but it is the 'Bromance' that is currently lighting up the charts and it is set to continue with 'The Hangover'.

The Hollywood comedy is an ever-changing beast and the American box office likes to follow trends. We had the dominance of the teen comedy with hits like 'Road Trip' and the 'American Pie' movies, the British romantic comedies like 'Bridget Jones' Diary' and 'Love Actually', the outrageous like 'The 40 Year-Old Virgin', 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' and 'Knocked Up' and now we have the 'Bromance'. These are films that are very male centric, with men declaring their platonic, heterosexual love for each other while having an adventure. 'Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy', 'Superbad' and 'I Love You Man' are fine examples of this and now 'The Hangover' follows suit.

There can't be anything more manly than the bachelor party. For male bonding mixed with excessive drinking and plenty of shenanigans but when you throw Las Vegas into the mix, you have a whole different situation. Now imagine that you got so wasted that drunk doesn't even come close to describing it and collectively the whole party has no recollection of what went on the night before. Worse still, they awake to find their very expensive Vegas suite to be virtually destroyed, a chicken running around, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet and that one of the party has lost a tooth and seems to have got married. But that isn't the worst thing however, the fact that they have lost the groom is tantamount to a disaster. Now that is one hell of a hangover and a legendary bachelor.

That is what happens to Phil, Stu and Alan, played by Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis and now they have to start an investigation to discover exactly what transpired and try and find Doug, the missing groom. The trio take the audience along for the ride and what transpires is, for the most part, extremely funny. What 'Old School' and 'Road Trip' director Todd Phillips has got right here is the lack of a big star name. Without a Will Farrell, Adam Sandler or Steve Carell to hog all the limelight Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis all have the chance to shine as the cocky and overly confident Phil, the under the thumb, downtrodden Stu and the just plain weird Alan. Throw in funny support from Jeffrey Tambor as Doug's soon-to-be stepfather who has some questionable advice about Vegas, the brilliant Ken Jeong as Chinese gangster Mr. Chow, the still beautiful Heather Graham as Jade, Sasha Barrese as the panicking bride Tracy and a strange cameo by Mike Tyson.

'The Hangover' is another fine example of the 'Bromance' and very funny to boot. With some laugh-out-loud moments and a cast really having fun with the material, this is another very good Hollywood comedy.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Map of Destruction (15.48 mins)
Director Todd Phillips, producers Don Goldberg and Bill Brzeski and stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha and Heather Graham take you around the Las Vegas locations where The Hangover was shot.

Three Best Friends Song (1.25 mins)
Watch the complete version of the We’re Back and Three Best Friends song that Stu and Alan sing on the way to the desert.

Gag Reel (7.57 mins)
Watch the cast make a hash of their lines and have fun on the set of ‘The Hangover’.

OVERALL

When you look at the difference between the DVD and the Blu-Ray release of ‘The Hangover’ you can see which format Warner Bros. would like you to buy. While the Blu-Ray has the extended version of the film, a digital copy and is filled with featurettes, the DVD is a little lacklustre compared. Movie fans will have to seriously think about upgrading to HD so they can get the full package for their favourite films.

DVD