The Hangover

The Hangover is a popular screwball comedy of the slapstick variety. It stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha and Jeffrey Tambor and has a fairly simple plot line. Four guys head to Las Vegas for a stag night for one of their number and the usual antics ensue.

This is definitely a film for the boys; the female characters are not developed at all and are just there to move the story along. The characters are very well played by relatively unknown actors and the scenes of Las Vegas are stunning.

The characters are pretty stereotypical. There is the repressed married guy who is looking to escape his mundane life for a couple of days and the long term relationship guy who is thinking about proposing to his uptight girlfriend. Then there is the socially inept soon to be brother in law who appears to be a bit of a wildcard at first but is gradually revealed as a well meaning if a little dopey guy in search of some friends and bonding. Finally there is the groom who is just a guy who is in love with his fiancée and wants a little fun before settling down.

However, the film starts with the morning after and three of the group awake to a trashed room and a missing groom. The characters spend the rest of the film retracing their steps to find the groom and trying to get him to the church on time. The chemistry between the actors is great and the pace is, at times, frenetic.