Hangover, The (2009)

Director: Todd Phillips
Notable Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike Tyson

Normally, I'm somewhat of a prude for my comedies. I tend not to like 'toilet humor' and most modern comedies use that as the basis for their stories and jokes. Although "The Hangover" does have some of that type of humor stashed in here, this is a pretty smart and extremely well written film that really uses its concept to full effect.

I think that the reason that this film works so well is its concept. It's like a mystery/thriller done as a comedy. The fact that this film is about putting the pieces together to find out what happened is the reason that this film works so well. Had it just been a movie about the Vegas party going nuts, then it would have been like every other 'let's get drunk and do stupid shit' comedies that are out there. Just seeing the characters reactions to shit that they did buy have no recollection of is priceless and earns the best laughs (particularly their reaction to the police car had me rolling). I must also give it up for the randomness of the writing. The inclusion of Mike Tyson is also pure comedic gold and the recurring issue of the mattress is awesome in itself.

I will warn those out there that there are a ton of jokes (mostly from Zach's character Alan) that are very quick and easy to miss. You might want to watch this one or two times to see if you can catch all of them. They are worth it.

This is the best comedy I've seen in a long time, honestly, and even with a lot of the dick and fart jokes I couldn't help but laugh. This is a must see comedy (and a big recommendation from me). 

Written By Matt Reifschneider