Review of The Hangover (English)
June 27, 2009 by FSJ
Las Vegas is a wild place, indeed. In Warner Brothers Pictures’ The Hangover (A), three friends wake up after a night out in this sin city and find themselves, literally, in a wild situation.
A couple of days before his wedding, Doug Billings (Justin Bartha) and his best men, Phil Wenneck (Bradley Cooper), Stu Price (Ed Helms) and Alan Garner (Zach Galifianakis), drive down to Las Vegas to have an unforgettable bachelor’s party. They book a swank villa at Caesar’s Palace, and climb onto the rooftop to raise a toast.
When the sun comes up, a barefooted female is tiptoeing out of their suite just as Stu is coming to his senses. He stares into a mirror and is aghast to see that one of his front teeth is missing. Searching for Doug, who has vanished without a trace, his buddies find a baby instead, crying in one of the bedrooms. Alan goes to take a leak, and is greeted by a tiger in the loo.
Neither of them can remember a freaking thing from the previous night.
The mystery in Jon Lucas and Scott Moore’s script unravels in quite a comic manner. However, some of the images and dialogues are gross. The premise may be original, but one of the major incidents, accidentally or not, is straight out of What Happens In Vegas.
Justin Bartha is level-headed. Zach Galifianakis, like many eccentric nerds, comes across as being slightly nutty in the head, and is a little too disgusting and wanting in social etiquette. Bradley Cooper is inconsistent with his emotions in grave situations; sometimes, getting excited, and sometimes, simply sporting an amused smile. Ed Helms, with a constant look of meekness and stupidity, does justice to his henpecked role.
Like the lighting, camerawork and pace, Christophe Beck’s music, too, has a trippy feel to it.
On the whole, director Todd Phillips’ males-on-a-drunken-spree flick has a fine treatment and is hilarious and highly stylized. But it’s the kind that caters to a very niche audience in India, and, therefore, even though the tone is totally feel-good, like any hangover, the film will not last.
Released on 26-6-’09 at Inox (daily 4 shows) and 15 other cinemas of Bombay by Warner Bros. Pictures (I) Pvt. Ltd. Publicity: so-so. Opening: dull.
- Dalton L.
Issue dated June 28 – July 4, 2009
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