It's hard to explain how some movies - "Porky's" for instance - are dumb and vulgar and offensive, and other movies are dumb and vulgar and offensive but are in a completely different realm.
"The Hangover" is one of those movies.
It's hard to defend. It's dumb. It's vulgar. It's offensive. It's predictable. It's based on a seemingly worn out format.
But it's funny.
And there's a sweetness under the dumbness and vulgarity. It's not a movie you'll want to take your mom (or your not-yet-mature kid) to, but if you're not on the far side of prudish, you'll find yourself laughing in spite of yourself.
Director Todd Phillips has done dumb and vulgar before with the films "Old School" and "Frat House," and was a writer on "Borat."
Here he's hit his high-water mark with a cast that elevates what could be another couple of hours of sheer mundane mediocrity. The camaraderie between the three characters (the fourth - and main - character is missing through most of the film) is believable and, as stated, funny.
Using a gimmick that reminds one of Quentin Tarantino, "The Hangover" begins at what appears to be the end of the story and then flashes back and works it way forward.
In the opening scene, three men are standing in the desert outside of Las Vegas, and one of them makes the decision to call a friend. His news is that another friend, her groom-to-be this very day, is nowhere to be found and none of the three involved in the bachelor party have any recollection of what happened the previous evening. Nor does the audience.
Suffice to say we see the quartet check into the choicest hotel room in Vegas, but we don't see them much again until the next morning when there's a chicken, a tiger and a baby in their room.
But there's no groom.
One of the men - whose girlfriend at home is of a domineering sort - discovers he's missing a tooth and has married a stripper. Heather Graham in the role of the stripper bride is absolute perfection. It's a small part but she owns it. She knows this sort of character. Remember her in "Boogie Nights?" She's not as prominent here, but her character is an anchor in the plot and she lights up the screen. The dramatic climax between her and her "husband" begs for a sequel.
As the haze of the day - and the drugs - clear, the trio (with the baby on board) tries to find their friend and get him back to Los Angeles for his wedding. All the while, none of them are admitting to anyone back home what's going on.
The third act of "The Hangover" gets a bit slow but for good, dumb fun, it's hard to beat at this box office moment in time. The ensemble cast seems like they really are the best (and not so best) of friends. I suspect "The Hangover" will be one of the biggest films of the year and a huge seller when it reaches the home-viewing market.
Sometimes, when it comes to comedy, dumb is smart.[[In-content Ad]]
Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield freelance writer and musician. He can be reached at info@wunderlesound.com.
