3 July 2009
"Tigers love pepper, they hate cinnamon"
The Hangover (2009) is now showing at the New Capitol Cinemas. It is the latest comedy on male mateship from the North American summer season. Though it has some nudity, it is in the context of events in Las Vegas. As the bride's father Sid Garner (Jeffrey Tambor) says to his potential son-in-law, Doug Billings (Justin Bartha) before he, the bride's brother, and two of his best friends set out from Los Angeles for Sin City in his classic Benz convertible, 'What happens in Las Vegas' stays in Las Vegas. The film should be called "Finding out what happened in Los Vegas".
The conceit of this movie is that what happened on their first night painting the town red is not accessible to the four revellers. A spaced out Alan Garner (Zach Galifianakis) has probably fried most of his brain on drugs but still has accessible, that part of his cerebral cortex that makes him a mathematics genius. Doug and his two mates Phil Wenneck (Bradley Cooper) and Stu Price (Ed Helms) make up the quartet. Phil is married and with a young son, while Dr Stu Price is a dentist who has been in a relationship for three years with Melissa (Rachel Harris) who is a control freak. Phil is the puppet master while Stu is both follower and an anchor to the others. Alan is a sly manipulator while Doug becomes the victim of their pranks.
The flick opens in the Mohave Desert 60 km from Las Vegas. Doug has vanished and there is only five hours to go to the wedding. Tracy Garner (Sasha Barrese), the bride, is screaming into a cell phone, as Phil tells her that it "is not going to happen" as they can't find the groom.
The flick then jumps back 48 hours so we can meet the boys, as they get ready to leave for Las Vegas. Stu tells Melissa they are going to Napa Valley to taste wine. Phil tries to warn Stu off Melissa saying that after you get married you begin "dying a little bit every day".
Alan pronounces that he was a lone wolf, but he has now found his wolf pack. Once in Las Vegas, they rent penthouse suite 2452, below the roof of the tower of Caesars Palace. On the roof, looking out over the city of lights, they toast to a "night the four of us will never forget". Unknown to the quartet, their drink has been spiced with the "Date Rape" drug so they will have a binge and quickly forget everything. Alan's dealer, who was meant to have sold him Ecstasy, is Doug (Mike Epps), an African-American who eventually acknowledges his mistake. They wake up the next day with no recollection of what has transpired and only knowing they harbour a giant hangover. The penthouse suite now has some strange occupants in it. A curvaceous young woman is seen departing. In the bathroom there is a tiger. In the parlour a white hen cavorts. A chair is on fire. Phil has around his wrist a bracelet that proves he was admitted at a local hospital - for what? In a closet there is a baby that Alan names Carlos. But Doug is nowhere to be found. The rest of the flick becomes a chase to find Doug and to try and comprehend what they have been through the previous night (but only at the end do they remember that the digital camera has photos of the events that are missing from their minds-don't leave, or you'll miss the raunchiest part of the whole movie). Slowly the pieces begin to fall together and they are not all pleasant.
With a valet ticket from 5 am, they call for their car and a Metro Police car is delivered to the front of Caesars Palace. Where is the Merc? They will discover that they have stolen more than a patrol car. Doug stole a young woman's heart-Jade (Heather Graham) a stripper who uses her job to find dates. Doug's mattress appears hanging on an uplifted arm of one of Caesar's Palace statues. The tiger has been stolen too, and from Mike Tyson (playing himself). They have also stolen US$80 G that seems to belong to an angry Lesley Chow (Ken Jeong). Stu, much to his consternation, has lost a tooth, which does soon appear in Alan's pocket, but none of the three can recall any of the events associated with this exchange. Alan, who is on the heavy side, finds that his belly button is pierced by a diamond dangle. Alan observes, when feeding the tiger, "Tigers love pepper, they hate cinnamon".
These are only a few of the revelations as our trio searches for their immediate past and tries to find Doug. Each of them does lead to new revelations and a variety of shocking incidents, confrontations and further outrageous happenings. Fortunately the flick moves quickly so all its outlandish goings-on can be brushed off as you prepare yourself for the next shock. Don't worry; they keep coming fast and furious.
If you survive the visual onslaught of The Hangover you may ask yourself why are American men such babies? It appears that the Hollywood version of manhood is stuck in pre-adolescent shenanigans. The three women in this flick are poorly portrayed as they whine, castrate or smoother in a sweetness that is spread over all the men a hooker engulfs, which is why Stu finds this more enticing than being ball-busted. It misses the positive feelings found in movies like The 40-year-old Virgin and Knocked Up. The director has given us other mixed-up films including Old School and Road Trip. The views of Las Vegas are stunning, but there are many films on Las Vegas that are far better, including What Happens in Vegas and Leaving Las Vegas.
The Hangover is one hour and 41 minutes long. It is rated 16+ for language, bare bums and breasts. It is in American. The director is Todd Phillips. The script is by bad boys Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The cinematographer is Lawrence Sher. The editor is Debra Neil-Fisher. The music is by Christophe Beck.
Email: sasa_majuma@yahoo.co.uk
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