The Hangover | Teen Ink

The Hangover

May 2, 2010
By natedog BRONZE, Arvada, Colorado
natedog BRONZE, Arvada, Colorado
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

A drunken hang-over and loss of memory, If you like sophomoric and just down-hard comedic fun in a movie, then this would be the best movie for you. The great things about the movie are that the comedy is surprisingly funny and the storyline is definitely something new with a whole blend of twists. Most of the movie involves a group of friends and one misfit troublemaker who try to sort out exactly what happened the night before after waking up in a hangover, with unexplainable and strangely unconnected clues to a really wild bachelor party night. To make matters worse, the groom, who has to get home to his wedding, is missing. This puts a whole new spin on the phrase, ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.’

The main stars of this movie include the party and fun man of the group, Bradley Cooper as Phil Wenneck, the intelligent and cowardly responsible Ed Helms as Stu Price, the former loner, and misunderstood troublemaker, Zach Galifianakis as Alan Garner, and last but not least, the average friendly groom, whose wedding everyone 'intended' to celebrate, Justin Bartha as Doug Billings.

The cast makes a perfect fit to this plot, and all of them play their parts very well. They have all been seen on the screen before. For example, Cooper played Will Tippin in the TV series, 'Alias.' Helms starred in such movies as Semi Pro and Harold and Kumar's escape from Guantanamo Bay . Zach is a popular comedian who has had parts in such movies as Corky Romano, and Bubble Boy, as well as his own Comedy Central specials. And Bartha is probably best known for his costarring in National Treasure.

The problems begin when Alan, feeling like he is finally connecting with what may be his first ever friends, decides to raise the party up a notch by slipping roofies (which he thought was ecstasy) into all their drinks. The party then begins. But just like the cast of the movie, the audience is immediately transported to the following morning, and everyone is left trying to figure out what the heck happened the night before. The twists begin when Phil wakes up, and stumbles around to find the toilet, but finds instead a live tiger lying half awake in the Suite’s bathroom.

Other clues to this great mystery, that was a bachelor party, continue to pop up, leaving more questions than answers: A live baby in a car seat in a closet of their hotel room; when they go to retrieve the car they drove to Vegas in, the Casino valet calls them officers, and then brings them a squad car belonging to the Las Vegas Police; Mike Tyson shows up in their Hotel room, extremely angry; One of their mattresses is laying on a lower roof of the casino; A very angry Asian guy, without his clothing, is trapped in the trunk of their own car once they were able to retrieve it, and some shady guys with guns----seem to want to kill them.

Unfortunately none of these clues give them any idea of where to find the groom, at least not until they have to put all the pieces together, and only after a comment causes one of them to, 'think outside of the box.'

The plot is filled with twists most of which are not predictable. But if it is a movie about Las Vegas, you know someone is either going to lose, or win a lot of money. Someone may be arrested. Their may be a major heist of a large casino. Someone may get married. There is probably going to be a scam of sorts. It might be an Elvis rock musical. And, it may be a story of mafia mix ups. This movie certainly has a share of these features (I won’t tell you which ones, so you will have to see the movie).

But it is more than just a comedy. The characters also come out of their nightmare with lessons of personal growth. The wimpish Stu, becomes a man, so to speak, and learns how to take over his own personal relationships in his life. Phil, the group's party boy, seems to mature a bit, as if he has had enough of the wild partying for a while. The trouble making Alan has learned valuable lessons about friendship. And the groom-to-be? Let's just say, without giving away the plot, that his most obvious change is only skin deep.

This has got to be one of the funnier movies of the year. The twists are unpredictable enough to make this one the Las Vegas movie for today; different from all the others that has come before it. I recommend you and your friends see it, as it is by far a guaranteed must see movie of the year. If I were to rate it 1out of 5, I would give it a 10 for how hysterical I found it to be. If you like this kind of humor, I think you will have good times with The Hangover.


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