Hangover

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 26th June, 2009 (India)
Time : 100 minutes
Director : Todd Phillips; Writer : Jon Lucas, Scott Moore;
Starring : Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifikianis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Mike Tyson, Ken Jeong

A group of 3 friends and a very eccentric future brother-in-law go on a trip to Las Vegas. When they wake up in the morning, their fancy suite is a mess, there is a very long legged model tip-toeing out trying not to disturb the chicken clucking around, the friends are in various stages of undress and sleeping on the floor or sofa’s or anywhere but on the bed, the dentist is missing a tooth, there is a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, instead of their Mercedes, the car valet gets them a police car. And oh, I almost forgot, the groom is missing and none of the friends can remember a thing about the previous night. Sounds interesting ? Curious as to what really happened that night ? I think it was brilliantly put together, and made for a highly enjoyable film as we, along with the friends, discovered the previous nights shenanigans….



I don’t want to spoil the fun, so will restrain myself from revealing anything. The interesting thing is that the characters are well-built as well. One is a dentist, who’s in a very constricting relationship with a very dominating woman, the type who wants to be called as soon as you check in, who finds strippers & Las Vegas offensive etc. There is a school teacher who cant wait to leave his family, the little tykes in school, take their school trip money and escape to Vegas. The brother-in-law deserves a book all unto himself. His choice of underwear, his demeanour, the fact that there is a restraining order against him not to go near any school or Chuck E Cheese, his satchel bag, all point towards a person we’d like to know better.

Throughout the film, we’re on tenterhooks as try to find out what really happened and it all ties in neatly at the end, except for the chicken, which curiously never gets explained. The jokes fly in thick and fast. Different eccentric people make their respective entry’s and exits (am really restraining myself from revealing more).

It’s a simple story, well told, well enacted, great music, and it has just the right degree of suspense. I deduct some points for the slightly implausible ending and their failure to reveal the origin of the chicken. And I just loved the band at the wedding in the end – I think India could use someone like them !