Movie review - The Hangover

Months and months after people told me this movie was a classic of the genre (although I'm not sure exactly which genre it belongs to - Hai Mischka!) I finally managed to watch The Hangover.

A couple of days before his wedding, Doug (Justin Bartha) and his best friends, Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms), and his fiancee's brother, Alan (Zak Galifianakis), head to Las Vegas for his bucks party. The next morning, Phil, Stu, and Alan awake to a trashed hotel suite, a random baby, a tiger in the bathroom, and worst of all, no Doug. So the guys retrace their adventures to figure out what exactly went on the night before. It's a very simple premise, but it's extremely well executed.

This can in part be attributed to the characters who, while a bit stereotypical (the confident guy, the worrywart, and the weirdo) are sympathetic because they're genuinely freaked out at having lost their friend, bewildered by their hijinks, and not remembering a single detail of how they did it. But another part is that the movie stays away from cheesy flashbacks, instead choosing to reveal the details of what happened piece by piece to them as well as to us so that many of the jokes catch you unawares.

Having said that, perhaps the best aspect of this movie is that a lot of the jokes are unexpected! The plot steers you in some areas expected of a night out in Vegas (strippers, shotgun wedding), but largely sticks to bizarre actions conducted when one loses their inhibition - like, where did that tiger come from? In fact, one could argue that one of the best things about this movie that it largely stays away from what would normally expect from bachelor parties (strippers etc). They are of course alluded to in the closing credit sequence, a photographic montage of the things that went on during the night. Watch the ending credits - the photos can be somewhat amusing.

So is this a classic? I'm not sure. But it has a verrrrrrrry highly entertaining narrative, and full of classic lines. So on the strength of that, go watch it if you haven't! By the way, tigers love pepper...they hate cinnamon.
7-8/10