FILM CHALLENGE: 137) The Hangover

137) The Hangover

Director: Todd Philips

Year: 2009

Plot Summary: A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him.

With plenty of sex jokes and crude gags The Hangover may, on the surface, look like every other teenage comedy that's been released in the last ten years. But, in fact, it's far from being just another replica of American Pie as Todd Philips' most recent effort is one of the most mature comedies to grace our screens in some time.

Mature? Yep, that's right. The statement may provoke shock among some people who think that 'mature' comedies have to involve darker or more poignant themes. Films like Synecdoche, New York, for example, which ambitiously tackles what life ultimately means as it comes to its end. Films like this summer's Get Low which provided an insight into an old man racked with guilt who just wants one opportunity to explain himself while he's still alive. Or even something like Greenberg which studies the life of a man who just doesn't want to face his middle age. But while these are great, adult films with a strong message, The Hangover deserves to be equally recognised alongside them. After all, in between the lines of this fast-paced, light-hearted and all out comedy, there's a fantastic look into the lives of four men caught between their youth and adulthood.

Stuart, for example, is a man who is still young at heart and enjoys partying with his three best friends. But he's growing older and, therefore, faces an important decision as to whether he should continue being the carefree and youthful man he is with his friends or face up the inevitable adulthood that is approaching and get married to his partner. This dilemma is symbolised by the conflicts between his partner and his friends over the course of the narrative; his wife wants Stu to be mature and act his age while his friends persuade him to carry on being the way he is.

In many ways, Stuart represents the first phase of the transition into adulthood, wanting to hold onto your youth, while Doug on the other hand represents the second stage: Saying goodbye to it. Doug is about to get married, after all, and wants this weekend to be his final send off to his youthfulness and carefree attitude. Then we also have Phil who represents the third stage: Wanting it back. He's happily married father who has a great job as a schoolteacher, but although he seemingly lives an ordinary adult existence at first, we soon realise that this weekend in Las Vegas, for him, is the chance to be 'free' again and forget his wife, children and job.

It's a shame that with such a strong bunch of characters, they don't really develop beyond what I've mentioned above. But, thankfully, that isn't entirely necessary because the situations they find themselves in are funny enough to keep you entertained nonetheless. The script, penned by John Lucas and Scott Moore, is about as perfect as this kind of the comedy could ever get balancing out the typical crude and offensive gags with some witty and smart humour too. Moreover, they've created such a simple yet fantastic concept too that surprisingly makes the loose, episodic narrative work wonders.

However, as The Hangover reaches its final act, the humour does, admittedly, become a little too over-the-top and it's clear that the writers have stretched the concept as far as they can. But, nonetheless, it remains fun to watch simply because the chemistry between the three aforementioned characters and their new friend Alan, who joins them slightly later, is so undeniably good. You'll watch The Hangover believing in their friendships with one another and equally believing that they will be friends for a long time after the movie ends.

4/5

By Daniel Sarath with 1 comment