The Hangover (2009) Review

The whole Hangover trilogy recently hit Netflix so I have decided to go back and watch the first film The Hangover and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees 3 guys wake up from a Bachelor party not remembering a thing and with the Bachelor missing. They must go through Las Vegas and find out what happened in order to find him before the wedding. 

Main Character

For me this was the film where Bradley Cooper really stood out, and he is really good here. He is just so charismatic in his role and lets face it he is the guy that we all want to be in this film, and he really shows his superstar talent. He is really funny here and I thought he was just a funny character in a funny film.

Supporting Characters

Ed Helms possibly does some of his best work here, he has a very obvious character arc here and really the only person with one but it works well. He bounces off of the other two guys really well and it raises him up to a really fun performance. Zach Galifianakis plays the third member of the crew and he is the shock humour character and he does it really well, some of things he says are so outrageous annd hilarious. The crew work extremely well together and their chemistry is what really drives the film and rises it above your average comedy. The rest of the cast fill their roles well with Ken Joeng having a particularly funny role. Plus this film has one of the best celebrity cameos I have seen in a film in recent times. 

Story

The story is really simple it is crazy nobody thought of it before, it keeps you invested as you really want to find out exactly what happened to these guys on this night out. Things get crazier and crazier and you are just entranced by how mental things get, plus you want to find out where the bachelor actually ended up. This film succeeds by not giving the audience much if any information and having them react with the characters. 

Script

The script has some hilarious dialogue in it, honestly it is a really funny film and if you are up for a straight up comedy then this is one to watch with clever writing and great ad-libbing. But for me a comedy needs to have some dramatic moments in it, especially for character progression. However, this film doesn't really have any of these moments which lead this to be the weakest element of the film. 

Style

The style of the film really focuses on the raunchy side of comedy and for this film it really works. As the film gets more shocking, the style gets more shocking leading to crazy moments. Also the pacing is excellent here, it doesn't take any time getting going and pretty much never stops moving which is great for a comedy.

Overall

Overall, this is a truly fantastic comedy, one that is raunchy but one that if you are a fan of comedies is a must watch and one that should be kept in a collection.

Rating - 9/10