COARSE, CRASS & CALLOUS: a review of "The Hangover"

From the archives, a review originally written October 15, 2009

"THE HANGOVER" Directed by Todd Phillips
** (two stars)

Once the final scatologically filled frames of "The Hangover" completed dancing across the screen as the end credits began to scroll, I thought to myself, "This is exactly why I don't have many male friends." The supreme shallowness. The epic boorishness. The shameless lowbrow, loutish and insensitivity. The unbelievable extent to which some males will descend themselves to any manner of puerile pursuit. It is a sensibility that I have not ever entertained and just do not think is exactly a key part of my DNA. That said, those aforementioned “traits” combined with how men view each other and the world surrounding them are perfect ingredients for film exploration, especially in comedy. The massive influence of the eternal “National Lampoon’s Animal House” continues to loom large over every R rated comedy released since 1978 and when done well, we are graced with anarchistically sublime modern day classics on the level of say “Stripes,” “There’s Something About Mary,” and “The 40 Year Old Virgin.” When it is not handled well, you get…”American Pie” or even worse, ”Porky’s.” When it was all said and done, “The Hangover,” Director Todd Phillips' latest raunchy ode to male-bonding, fell somewhere in the middle for me. It wasn’t exactly a disappointment but one that just didn’t leave the desired effect.

The film begins very promisingly as the bride-to-be receives a fateful telephone call from her fiancee’s best friend Phil (Bradley Cooper) who is standing battered and bruised in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It turns out that Phil, dentist Stu (Ed Helms) and the bride’s brother Alan (Zach Galifianakis) have lost the groom (Justin Bartha) after a disastrous bachelor party and completely forgotten night of limitless debauchery during which a police car was stolen, a wedding had taken place, major gambling earnings had been won, a tooth had been extracted, a price Mercedes convertible had been discarded (and who is that locked in the trunk?) and Mike Tyson’s pet tiger had miraculously found a new home in the foursome’s hotel suite bathroom. From that opening phone call, the film completely skips over the night in question to ultimately create a strong and vulgar adventure which indeed builds a surprising amount of comic suspense. Phillips and his screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, do a fine job of keeping us on our collective toes with one unexpected revelation and escapade after another. It is very sure footed storytelling with a clear sense of purpose, execution and destination.

So, what was the problem, you ask. Well…it is a comedy and I just didn’t find myself laughing that much throughout. Yes, there are some BIG laughs here and I must give special mention to Ken Jeong and Rachael Harris (when will someone give this woman her own movie or HBO program?) as they appear in supporting roles as a viciously effeminate gangster and a volcanically mean girlfriend respectively. They inject the film with fierce comic energy but on the whole, the film just was not consistently funny enough to the point where it could transcend its preposterous situations into comic hilarity. Comedy wrongly receives so little respect as a legitimate art and that is unfortunate as the nature of what is funny to each of us is subjective to such an acute degree. What is funny to me may not be funny in any conceivable way to you and in the case of “The Hangover,” I realize that I am in the minority as it just didn’t reach me. For some elusive reason, the actual humor, not the story, felt at times to be generic and recycled.

My biggest issue with the film was the actual trio of Phil, Stu and Alan themselves. I just didn’t like these guys at all and felt they deserved every bit of misfortune they received. This observation is not the fault of Cooper, Helms and Galifianakis. They all handled their respective roles with ease, and they presented a realistic collective with effective chemistry unlike many films where casting is based upon marquee value and you cannot believe that those people would ever have a conversation let alone be involved with any on-screen exploits together. Again, what bothered me were the characters. They were coarse, crass, and callous, also great qualities for comedy but in this case, I was not able to be swept away and it all felt a bit mean-spirited and a bit backwards.

Over the years, this particular genre has had its own evolution especially through programs like “Entourage” and films from Writer/ Director Kevin Smith and Writer/Producer/Director Judd Apatow. In films such as “Clerks,” “Chasing Amy,” and “Knocked Up,” we were given a broader insight into the secret world of men, their foibles, failures, and fears which scaled new comedic heights while not dialing down the raucousness. The film “Sideways,” directed by Alexander Payne also boasted a male friendship that proved to be a sublime comedy experience while also probing the toll certain friendships can take as you reach middle age. “The Hangover” seemed superficial by comparison. And it also had a creepy chauvinism that just didn’t sit well with me as all of the primary female characters existed not as characters but solely as either passive hand-wringers, ferocious bitches and worst of all, the cliched hooker with a “heart of gold” (Heather Graham in a completely thankless role). Not to sound politically correct about the whole thing but the film seemed to be the equivalent of a clubhouse with “No Girls Allowed” scrawled across the front door in dripping paint. Not necessarily a bad thing but it was the film’s tone that just put me off from entirely embracing it.

But, the film has made a fortune and the inevitable sequel is on the way and I have to say that sounds like a terrible idea. Honestly, what are they going to do? Have another festive celebration go wrong where they wake up the next day having to piece the forgotten night together…again? Ugh! Here’s an idea. Let’s shake up the genre. Get Rachael Harris, Leslie Mann, Amy Poehler and Kristin Wiig together. Get Tina Fey to write it with her trademark savage humor. I would love to see what they could do with that kind of a hangover.

I wonder if I can get this idea floated to them somehow…