THE HANGOVER (15)
D: Todd Phillips
Warner Bros./Legendary (Todd Phillips & Dan
Goldberg)
US 2009
96 mins
Comedy
W: Jon Lucas & Scott
Moore
DP: Lawrence Sher
Ed: Debra Neil-Fisher
Mus: Christophe Beck
PD: Bill Brzeski
Bradley Cooper (Phil Wenneck), Ed Helms (Dr. Stuart
Price), Zach Galifianakis (Alan Garner), Heather Graham (Jade), Justin Bartha (Doug Billings), Jeffrey Tambor (Sidney Garner), Ken Jeong (Leslie Chow)
A group of friends head to Vegas for a bachelor party
the weekend before a big wedding and wake up worse for wear after an ill-advised mix of alcohol and drugs. The groom-to-be has done a disappearing act, though their trashed hotel
room has gained the company of a young infant, Mike Tyson's tiger and a random chicken.
In their dazed state, three of the friends try to
piece the events of the night together and discover the wereabouts of their missing pal, whilst returning the infant back to it's mother and the jungle cat back to the irascible boxer,
but they find themselves in even more chaos when it unfolds that they've got themselves involved with a crazy Chinese gang member.
Some of the comedy is rather puerile, but it's the
right side of funny as it emerges that the shenanigans of the night are so over the top, it can only be classed as the binge to end all binges.
There's a clever homage to Rain Man thrown in, and
while the comedy isn't 100% original, it is incredibly funny.
The movie was a huge box office success and went on to
produce a couple of sequels, which weren't particularly necessary and didn't match up to the hilarity of the first film.
How the group of friends came to be in possession of a
chicken still remains a mystery.
8/10
THE HANGOVER PART II (15)
D: Todd Phillips
Warner Bros./Legendary (Todd Phillips & Dan
Goldberg)
US 2011
102 mins
Comedy
W: Scott Armstrong, Craig Mazin & Todd
Phillips [based on characters created by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore]
DP: Lawrence Sher
Ed: Debra Neil-Fisher & Mike Sale
Mus: Christophe Beck
Bradley Cooper (Phil Wenneck), Ed Helms (Dr. Stuart
Price), Zach Galifianakis (Alan Garner), Justin Bartha (Doug Billings), Ken Jeong (Leslie Chow)
The first film was reasonably original, thoroughly
enjoyable and very funny. This sequel isn't particularly original, following exactly the same formula as the first film but relocating it from Vegas to Thailand and exchanging Mike
Tyson's tiger for a chain-smoking monkey. Its lack of originality also means it isn't particularly enjoyable either, nor is it very funny.
It's the exactly the same film as the first, except
LOUDER.
A much better idea would surely have been to just
revisit the original film once again just to explain where the damn chicken came from!
I gotta be honest, I've had real hangovers which are
more fun.
3/10
THE HANGOVER PART III (15)
D: Todd Phillips
Warner Bros./Legendary (Todd Phillips & Dan
Goldberg)
US 2013
100 mins
Comedy
W: Craig Mazin & Todd Phillips [based on characters
created by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore]
DP: Lawrence Sher
Ed: Debra Neil-Fisher & Jeff Georg
Mus: Christophe Beck
Bradley Cooper (Phil Wenneck), Ed Helms (Dr. Stuart
Price), Zach Galifianakis (Alan Garner), Justin Bartha (Doug Billings), Ken Jeong (Leslie Chow), John Goodman (Marshall), Heather Graham (Jade)
So, how many ways can you skin a cat?
The first film was a hilarious stag party gone wrong in
Vegas, with the three principal characters trying to find the groom-to-be after a rather heavy night. The second film was pretty much the same plot, set in Bangkok, with the volume turned up
high, minus the hilarity.
This third film doesn't even feature a hangover, it just
references an event from the first film and builds on that, with the three main characters hunting for a gangster's treasure (seriously).
The unfunniest character from the first two films (played
by Ken Jeong) returns and has a rather major part, although it mostly involves acting like a complete arsehole throughout the entire running time of the film.
Zach Galifianakis and his man-child act simply isn't funny
anymore and the rest of the cast just seem tired.
Waking up after a night of heavy drinking with Mike
Tyson's tiger and a random chicken in your hotel room is funny. This isn't. In fact, a real hangover would be funnier.
There's a scene about 30 minutes into the movie when
Bradley Cooper's character says 'What the fuck am I watching?'
I'm with you Bradley.
2/10
