Movie review take two: The Hangover

by by Kip Mooney

The best time you’ll never remember.

When concocting the perfect cocktail, it’s best not to mix in too many liquids. Too much booze, and the final product tastes too pungent. Not enough and there’s not much point.

And so it is with the latest effort from Todd Phillips (Old School). After wandering in the PG-13 desert with the humorous Starsky and Hutch and the humorless School for Scoundrels, he’s returned to his raunchy oasis with an R-rated movie, trying for nothing more or less than a gross-out laugh riot.

In a Todd Phillips movie (never a “film” or “joint”), there are no lessons, which is actually quite refreshing. The characters of his movies only have a few objectives: drink a lot, have fun, and stick it to “the Man,” whether he be in the form of a college dean, a killjoy wife or even the police.

Over the course of 36 hours the unfortunate crew (including Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis) will encounter those last two, as well as a gay Asian Mafioso, an angry, tuneful Mike Tyson, and of course their own inebriation as they try to figure out what transpired during their night of debauchery as well as the location of the M.I.A. groom-to-be.

With so many bizarre elements, it would have been very easy for The Hangover not to work, coming off as the drunkard who’s only funny to himself.

Luckily, there’s the hilarious script from the duo of Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (who also wrote the recent Ghosts of Girlfriends Past—but I won’t hold that against them. I think they needed an R-rated vehicle to let their humor shine through). It's chock-full of quotable lines, but many of them aren’t exactly things you’d share in mixed company.

But the funny, profane one-liners aren’t just a crutch to cover up a lack of plot. The story, while simple, is slyly told, with flashbacks and foreshadowing creating a puzzle for the characters and the audience. The ending, while a bit of surprise, isn’t completely unbelievable. In a way, it is somewhat like Memento crossed with Bachelor Party.

[Writers’ Note: Dir. Todd Phillips described it as this, but I’m not sure where—I think it was in an interview I did with him. I’ll have to consult my notes.]

As the crew retrace their stumbled-through steps and discover what exactly they got up to - including intoxicated nuptials, a trip to the hospital, and running the craps table - they gather another clue to finding their missing pal. The twists and turns aren’t exactly brilliant, but this is a movie that won’t insult your intelligence, no matter your state.

While it’s still early, The Hangover has staked its drunken claim as the year’s funniest movie. (I imagine it will only have to contend with Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno.) So grab your friends and a brew (if your local theater sells ’em) and walk a straight line to this movie. You won’t regret it. Just be sure to stick around for the end credits, featuring a slideshow of the foursome’s inebriated shenanigans.

film lover Kip Mooney is on summer hiatus from his duties at North Texas Daily