As I said to an acquaintance after the screening, The Hangover is a movie that will benefit from "you've gotta see this movie" word of mouth, but it won't be a major repeat-business movie. It can't be. It's great the first time because you're retracing the bizarre, ridiculous steps of a forgotten stag night and learning more at each step. I can't imagine it being nearly as entertaining on a second go-round once you know everything.
Director Todd Phillips returns to the stock triptych of The Sleaze, The Repressed, and The Weirdo. The one guy hates marriage openly (Bradley Cooper), the other is stuck in an abusive relationship (Ed Helms), and the oddball (Zach Galifinakis) acts like he's from a parallel universe. I couldn't keep their names straight, and I swear I had nothing to drink beforehand. One was Stu, one was Phil, and the other....Alan? The groom's name was Doug, right? This isn't really a problem, since it's established early on that these guys are more Quantity A, B, and C than actual people. They're generic people you don't get emotionally invested in, but could see having a nutso night of mischief with for a thrill.
They keep the story specifics lightweight too: two best friends and the bride's brother lose the groom the night of the bachelor party and can't remember anything the next morning. The movie is full of one-liner throwaways and sight gags, going all the way to the last frame of the movie. They all work like gangbusters in the instant they happen, but don't leave you feeling you've seen the greatest comedy of the year or your life once all's said and done. In spite of that, it gels well enough that I can recommend friends see it theatrically and not wait for video. The Hangover is an experience that works best communally, not late some lonely night on HBO.
If there's one thing to celebrate about The Hangover, it's the assured emergence of Zach Galifinakis as a face the public will know and a name people will try to spell right. Zach's stand-up is stridently unconventional compared to the majority of comics around the country. He's not interested in bitching about his wife, small penis, or addiction to pot and videogames. His style of discomfort humor works best been seen as well as heard. I hadn't heard of him before seeing Michael Blieden's The Comedians of Comedy a few years ago, and I've been hooked on his work ever since. As a side note, this movie also ensures CHUD's Devin Faraci will be incorrectly identified in public as "that guy with the beard from that movie" for years to come.
Zach's the biggest reason the movie keeps you interested, because it's impossible to be sure what's going to come out of his mouth or other orifices at any given time. Cooper and Helms were fine, but it doesn't feel like they were given as much room to breathe as Galifinakis. Heather Graham plays another stock character, the hotbodied hooker with a heart of gold. "Jade" feels like the flipside of her character in Swingers while still serving the same general purpose in the narrative.
Ken Jeong has about as much to do here as he did in Role Models. His first entrance is abrupt and memorable, and the fey Chinese gangster schtick works thanks to the brief doses it's limited to. Any more would've driven me up the wall. Tyson does a solid job with a couple good lines, serving roughly the same purpose here as Lou Ferrigno did in I Love You, Man. His "acting" chops make me glad the Broken Lizard guys couldn't get him for the still-unreleased Slammin Salmon and got Michael Clarke Duncan instead.
It surprised me that it took as long as it did to actually get to the Hangover portion of the movie. I can't help but think the movie could have been a bit more gut-busting and effective by just getting on with things already. The movie also plays better if you go in really blind, having seen no trailers or ads. Regardless, it's going to destroy Land of the Lost (which I'm seeing tonight) this weekend and should have a couple more weeks' legs on it beyond that. More on that tomorrow.