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'The Hangover' review

Enough entertainment for a good trailer, and nothing more

By Matt Pais

Metromix
June 4, 2009

Critic's Rating:

Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper (Credit: Frank Masi/Warner Bros.)

Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper

The Hangover

Running time:: 99 minutes

Rated:: R

Cast:

Bradley Cooper -

Phil

Ed Helms -

Stu

Zach Galifianakis -

Alan

Justin Bartha -

Doug

Heather Graham -

Jade

See full cast

Director:: Todd Phillips

Genre:: Comedy

Official Movie Web Site:: http://hangovermovie.warnerbros.com/

Overall User Rating:: (16 ratings)

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So this one time a bunch of guys (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis) had such a crazy Vegas bachelor party for their friend Doug (Justin Bartha) that they lost the groom and couldn’t remember anything the next day—including how their room got trashed and who put a baby, a chicken and a tiger in there. Then the trio trekked around town looking for Doug and piecing together the night in question.

The buzz: Hopefully this is a blast, since Cooper deserves starring roles and director Todd Phillips is behind two of the decade’s few enduring dude movies (“Road Trip,” “Old School”) not connected to Judd Apatow. (Warner Brothers is confident: They reportedly already greenlit the sequel.) On the other hand, Phillips also helmed garbage like “School for Scoundrels,” and “Hangover” comes from the writers of “Four Christmases.”

The verdict: The rush of craziness like stealing cop cars and marrying strippers comes from the actual act of doing it—uh, so I’ve heard—not just being told about it the next day. But Phillips, never particularly savvy at pacing, just shuffles “Hangover” forward with answers instead of memories. The movie informs us that this crazy thing happened, then this crazy thing happened, but never conjures the sensation of living it. The result is less a legendary night to experience than one that ends with, “Eh, you had to be there." Helms’ timing and some sufficiently ridiculous situations guarantee “Hangover” has some laughs; what it needs is adrenaline.

Did you know? As it turns out, scenes involving tossing around a used condom, suffering the wrath of a stun gun and an elderly man receiving a prostate exam are funnier on paper. Also of note: after this and "Road Trip," there are now two Todd Phillips movies involving prostate exams.

Video: Watch Matt's comedy showdown between 'The Hangover' and 'Land of the Lost'