For all the hype and hubbub about this one, I fell asleep within the first 35 minutes. When I woke up at the 1:07 point or so, nothing had changed. The protagonists were still appearing in rooms with various caricatures, having the plot explained to them in halting, poorly-written diatribes that must have been given no more than one take each (because actors behaving awkwardly is always funny, even when it's because they've been left in the lurch by the script, directing, and their own lack of commitment!). I told my partner that something really amazing must have happened in the 40 minutes or so I was asleep to make this movie worthy of a tenth of its reputation; she did not offer any redeeming words.
I'm a humongous fan of "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," so it's not that I can't respect movies where the main characters run from one ridiculous, unbelievable scenario to another. In fact, that's the main reason I enjoy H+K so much; I consider it a modern epic poem, telling the tale of the trials and tribulations of my generation (including that of recognizing what we want, and that of suffering hugely - and willingly - for even the most mundane of those desires) in the most matter-of-fact tone possible in such absurd circumstances.
But "The Hangover" doesn't do any of that. Someone with some money saw that movies where men act like rude boys and have unlikely exploits were in style, and made one as quickly as possible. There is no journey here. There is no message, and if you really don't have anything to say, why spend a lot of time and effort doing it well, right?
Worse is that this movie - which has nothing to say in the first place - has at least three endings (not alternate endings... three endings IN the movie). Why?
There were some parts of "The Hangover" that were worth talking about. Unfortunately it's because I found them vaguely offensive and misogynistic. It's funny that a man is the victim of domestic violence by a woman (because obviously women aren't really strong enough to do that in real life, or obviously if they tried the man would beat the woman up); even the most beautiful of the 'ladies of the night' will instantly marry any drunk, nerdy vanilla guy that comes along and gives her a ring (or are we to believe that all Vegas prostitutes look like Heather Graham?)... and still be interested in that relationship after he takes the ring back the next morning; any beautiful bride is capable of extreme meanness if any part of 'her' day is threatened, but can be placated with the weakest and most incomplete apologies and explanations ever made at the altar (while the officiator is speaking the words that were so important just moments earlier). There are more instances of stereotyping and prejudice for the sake of a cheap laugh or moving the story along, but I simply didn't care enough about "The Hangover" to remember them.
And then there's Mike Tyson, playing (with a lot of cuts - was he only able to remember one line at a time?) a sensitive, regal bachelor offended at even the slightest of dirty jokes. I'll leave it up to your sensibilities to decide whether a convicted rapist being upset that someone simulated (clothes on) illegal acts with his pet tiger is funny, or just sad.
Most of the actual funny moments in the film are direct copies of scenes from other films. Some (card-counting scene) are done as homage. Many (wild animal waking up in back of car, a la Harold and Kumar, a la Tommy Boy) are done because the writing is poor and boring and no one could think of a laugh for this particular thirty seconds of the film
Finally, no one is anywhere near their best in this film. Ed Helms, while acceptably quirky in "The Office," has really never been as good as he was on "The Daily Show." It's clear that his repertoire is limited and has run out. Galifianakis, whose schtick works pleasantly in HBO's "Bored to Death," can't find a place for it in this movie, teetering between (offensively) playing someone with true mental disabilities and someone who's just the logical, extreme conclusion to the previously-mentioned clamor for man-boy characters. Bartha and Cooper are entirely forgettable. Ken Jeong might be the best part of the film; his caricature (and boy, is it that) actually works as an unexpected roadside attraction, and at least got me to chuckle a bit. Sadly, his character's henchmen suffered from the same lack of believability as everyone else, and existed only to explain the plot more, throwing a wrench in the works every time Jeong started to make me giggle.
Highly, highly overrated.
4/10
I'm a humongous fan of "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," so it's not that I can't respect movies where the main characters run from one ridiculous, unbelievable scenario to another. In fact, that's the main reason I enjoy H+K so much; I consider it a modern epic poem, telling the tale of the trials and tribulations of my generation (including that of recognizing what we want, and that of suffering hugely - and willingly - for even the most mundane of those desires) in the most matter-of-fact tone possible in such absurd circumstances.
But "The Hangover" doesn't do any of that. Someone with some money saw that movies where men act like rude boys and have unlikely exploits were in style, and made one as quickly as possible. There is no journey here. There is no message, and if you really don't have anything to say, why spend a lot of time and effort doing it well, right?
Worse is that this movie - which has nothing to say in the first place - has at least three endings (not alternate endings... three endings IN the movie). Why?
There were some parts of "The Hangover" that were worth talking about. Unfortunately it's because I found them vaguely offensive and misogynistic. It's funny that a man is the victim of domestic violence by a woman (because obviously women aren't really strong enough to do that in real life, or obviously if they tried the man would beat the woman up); even the most beautiful of the 'ladies of the night' will instantly marry any drunk, nerdy vanilla guy that comes along and gives her a ring (or are we to believe that all Vegas prostitutes look like Heather Graham?)... and still be interested in that relationship after he takes the ring back the next morning; any beautiful bride is capable of extreme meanness if any part of 'her' day is threatened, but can be placated with the weakest and most incomplete apologies and explanations ever made at the altar (while the officiator is speaking the words that were so important just moments earlier). There are more instances of stereotyping and prejudice for the sake of a cheap laugh or moving the story along, but I simply didn't care enough about "The Hangover" to remember them.
And then there's Mike Tyson, playing (with a lot of cuts - was he only able to remember one line at a time?) a sensitive, regal bachelor offended at even the slightest of dirty jokes. I'll leave it up to your sensibilities to decide whether a convicted rapist being upset that someone simulated (clothes on) illegal acts with his pet tiger is funny, or just sad.
Most of the actual funny moments in the film are direct copies of scenes from other films. Some (card-counting scene) are done as homage. Many (wild animal waking up in back of car, a la Harold and Kumar, a la Tommy Boy) are done because the writing is poor and boring and no one could think of a laugh for this particular thirty seconds of the film
Finally, no one is anywhere near their best in this film. Ed Helms, while acceptably quirky in "The Office," has really never been as good as he was on "The Daily Show." It's clear that his repertoire is limited and has run out. Galifianakis, whose schtick works pleasantly in HBO's "Bored to Death," can't find a place for it in this movie, teetering between (offensively) playing someone with true mental disabilities and someone who's just the logical, extreme conclusion to the previously-mentioned clamor for man-boy characters. Bartha and Cooper are entirely forgettable. Ken Jeong might be the best part of the film; his caricature (and boy, is it that) actually works as an unexpected roadside attraction, and at least got me to chuckle a bit. Sadly, his character's henchmen suffered from the same lack of believability as everyone else, and existed only to explain the plot more, throwing a wrench in the works every time Jeong started to make me giggle.
Highly, highly overrated.
4/10
