"The Hangover" - REVIEW

We've all seen the comercials, or at least heard people, often in jest, rattling off that exhausted cliche: what happens in Vegas, STAYS in Vegas. And after watching Todd Philips' "The Hangover", we know why; it doesn't just get crazy in Sin City...it gets f***ing INSANE. Opening with a phone call, we see a bruised and battered Phil (Bradley Cooper) talking to the fiance of his friend Doug (Justin Bartha, from "National Treasure"). The wedding is in five hours, but Doug is nowhere to be found. Before much else is said, we rewing to two days prior, where Doug, Phil, Stu (Ed Helms of "The Office"), and Alan (Zack Galifiankis), Doug's slightly 'off' brother-in-law-to-be, set off on a road trip to Vegas for Doug's bachelor party. After splurging on a gorgeous suite and making a toast on the roof of the hotel, the camera pans up and looks out over the city, going into hyper-fast-forward into the following morning, culminating in a blinding flash of white light. And then we see the aftermath. Broken glass, a shattered plasma TV, feather boas, an apple speared into the desk with a sword, a chicken, a baby, Stu's missing tooth, and a tiger in the bathroom are just some of the "what the hell?" results of the crazy night before. And that's when it all kicks into all-out-comedic-riot mode. Realizing that they've messed up big time, and that the groom is missing, the guys struggle to figure out what on earth happened to Doug and to themselves (not to mention their hotel room). It only gets stranger when they turn in their parking ticket at the valet, and get back a police car instead of a Mercedes. Perhaps the smartest thing that Philips' film does in its exploration of Vegas-induced insanity is that it doesn't show us much of anything. Rather, we're left with increasingly bizarre clues that continue to suggest how extreme the party was. With this mystery element, the movie is elevated far above what could have been a run-of-the-mill "outrageous road trip" movie. With solid performances, great timing, and some fantastically crafted profanity, "The Hangover" stays true to its promises of outrageousness, while also making itself something more memorable. Cooper and Helms each have their moments, but it's Galifiankis and bit player Ken Jeong who steal the show, as loopy oddball and foulmouthed Asian gangster respectively. Perhaps what's best about Galifiankis though, is that instead of simply making him an over-the-top loud mouthed crazy, many of his lines are delivered in an even tone, keeping his bizarre brand of idiocy from becoming overbearing, and making it much funnier. Throw in a brief but side-splitting cameo from Mike Tyson, and what we're left with is something so over-the-top-insane, so fearless, that it easily takes the crown as the funniest movie of 2009 so far.

Grade: B/B+