The Hangover by Director Todd Phillips - Movie Review Example

Film analysis: The Hangover (2009) Introduction: Comedy is good for all, but with a refined aesthetic sense is actually great. Director Todd Phillips of ‘Old School’ (2003) fame has successfully created an ordinary yet unpredictable comedy about four friends and a bachelor party going really wrong. This paper briefly examines the genre of comedy as evident in the film ‘The Hangover’ directed by Phillips, and describes the major themes as well as other relevant points in support of the argument that it is indeed a comedy. Identification of genre: Comedy Going by the definitions of the genre of comedy films, the most significant emphasis of comedy films is on the aspect of humor. In a more generic manner, comedy films are lighthearted plots consistently as well as deliberately designed to amuse audience and provoke laughter by means of one-liners, jokes, etc. This is accomplished by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. More specifically, the genre of comedy observes the deficiencies, eccentricities and frustrations of life while providing entertainment and enjoyment, and a momentary escape from mundane lifestyle. Explicating the genre further, comedy films can be sub-divided into a number of sub-genres including slapstick comedy, romantic comedy, black or dark comedy, screwball comedy, and so on. Various sub-types of comedy are defined and described under the objective of specific terminologies. What is common in all these sub-genres is the existence of humor. Coming down to the specific subject of this paper, ‘The Hangover’ is at best described as the perfect blend of different sub-types of comedy including raunchy comedy, screwball comedy and crime comedy. So to say, the film contains a little bit of raunchy comedy (with its pervasive language and sexual content such as nudity, and some drug material too), some screwball antics (for example, the crazy eccentricities of the characters) along with the elements of crime comedies (drunken misadventures by the friends). But interestingly, this very aspect of blending sub-genres is what makes the film more special and authentic. The title of the film, that is, The Hangover, itself offers an eventful testimony to the drunken misadventures of the characters, friends out together on a bachelor night out in Vegas. Evident enough from the film, not everybody can handle the craziness of Las Vegas. As the men in the film plan to celebrate the ensuing marriage of their friend by throwing a bachelor party and try to have a good time in Las Vegas, they only wake up to realize that they had been drugged while the bridegroom goes missing. From there on starts the series of (mis)adventures of the friends creating humor in almost every scene. This is what keeps the comic quotient prominent throughout the film, and the audience have their hangover of laughter till the end. Plot: ‘The Hangover’ begins with a bride, Tracy in Los Angeles, who receives the bad news from her fiancé’s best friend on her wedding day that the groom is missing. This leads us to the flashback, two days prior to the wedding day, when the boys - the groom, Doug and his friends, Phil, Stu and Alan - drive down to Las Vegas to celebrate the groom’s bachelor party. The boys get into a hotel and go on to the terrace for a toast only to realize the very next morning that Doug is missing. This is the first turning point of the film from where it takes the audience to witness a series of eccentricities of the boys. Elements adding to the oddities and craziness of the comedy are to be found in the severe disorderliness of the suite where the boys put up the previous night: a tiger in the bathroom, a crying baby in the closet, and one of the friends with a missing tooth. While retracing their steps, the boys manage to uncover the history of their misadventures one by one. So the baby in the closet is of an escort whom one of the friends marries despite planning to propose to his mean-spirited girlfriend. The story of the missing tooth leads them to their encounter with the Asian gangsters the night before. Still clueless of what happened to them the previous night, the climax comes when Mike Tyson visits them in their suite to take back his stolen pet - the tiger. After his pet is returned, Tyson shows them security footage of them stealing the tiger, in an effort to help them locate the missing friend. This is what leads the boys to realize that what they had the other night thinking to be the pills of ecstasy is actually roofies. With no option left to trace the groom, the boys finally come back to LA to confess the truth in front of the bride. The final turning point comes when the boys decide to go back to Vegas from where their misadventures start. The theory is simple as it is a prank the friends used to share even before: the missing groom must be on the rooftop of the hotel where they started the bachelor party. At the end, the groom is found on the terrace, the friends come back to LA for the wedding. Everything ends on a happy note. The only witness to their eccentricities in Vegas is a digital camera. Themes: ‘The Hangover’ features a perfect blend of various sub-genres of comedy that makes the film a delightful retreat to audience. Comedy being the primary element of the film, there are a number of themes contained in it. One of the most prominent themes is the bond of friendship shared by the boys in the film. The onscreen chemistry between the four friends is prevalent from the beginning till its end. The four characters are truly best of friends. Not a single beat is missed, no joke left behind, the humor in the film is very adult which is an honest job by the director. In short, the humor of ‘The Hangover’ is simply out of control humor based on one forgotten night in Vegas. The feeling of camaraderie shared by the close friends simply stands out as the top notch in the film. Apart from the superb friendship shared by the characters, the theme of Vegas is also significantly visible. Interesting enough, after watching the film it is agreed that some people just can not handle Vegas. What happens in Vegas on that forgotten night depicts a picture perfect of the madness and liveliness of Vegas. Beautiful shots of Vegas and its wonderful cinematography make the film more interesting and relevant to the theme. Another prominent theme in the film can be the after-effects of drug consumption. As the four friends are off to Vegas to celebrate a night of bachelor party, they enjoy drug with roofies that reasons behind the eccentricities of the boys. This is the reason of their crazy activities or rather misadventures on the night of debauchery of which nobody among them could recall afterwards. This includes the strangest of things happened to them the next morning when the friends find the groom missing, a tiger in the bathroom of their suite, a crying baby in the closet and one of the friends with a missing tooth. The camaraderie between the boys is visible from the beginning of the film. Being the best of friends, the boys share a special bond of closeness. They care for each other with their own boyish attitude. Stu has a girlfriend, Melissa who is very dominating - a reason of disparagement among the friends. Before starting off their Vegas trip, Stu is arguing with Melissa trying to convince her that they are going for wine testing on the bachelor party. She is convinced after some time but anyway she treats Stu like crap. Phil as a caring and honest friend openly points out that Melissa controls Stu and she is not a good person since she already cheated on Stu when she slept with a bartender on a cruise. Honesty between the friends is one reason that binds them together to become the best friends. At the end when nothing works to trace Doug, the three friends finally confess the truth to the bride Tracy about their misadventures and the missing Doug. During the credits, the crazy activities of the drug-consumed friends are shown. In short, the film truly lives up to the expectation of true friendship, candid bonhomie and a colorful portrayal of Las Vegas. Conclusion: The comedy in ‘The Hangover’ is definitely the best in 2009 and one of the best for all time comedy success stories in Hollywood. The title of the film brings out the misadventures of four best friends on a forgotten night in Vegas. The film is a laugh riot wonderfully described by the director, who has also given best buddy comedies like ‘Old School’ and ‘Road Trip’. What is common among all these three films is the adventurous friends and their togetherness even in the craziest situations. To conclude, the audience continue in the hangover of laughter with the film and even out of the theatre. After all, what happens in Vegas is not everybody’s cup of tea. Reference: The Hangover (2009). Director Todd Phillips Read More