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The Hangover - UNRATED (2009) by Todd Phillips
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DVD detailsActor: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, Zach Galifianakis Director: Todd Phillips Brand: Warner Brothers DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1 Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 2.35:1 Running Time: 108 minutes DVD Release Date: 2009-12-15 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of The Hangover - UNRATED (2009)DVD Review: The Opposite of a Headache Summary: 5 Stars
The Hangover is a compelling anomaly of a comedy, one that easily could have been just another movie where a group of thirtysomething dudes get drunk and into all sorts of trouble. The method in which its story is told, however, sets it apart from its comedic kin and makes it all the more hilarious and brilliant.
A small group of friends, pretty boy Phil (Bradley Cooper), lady-whipped Stu (The Office's "Andy," Ed Helms), socially inept Alan (awesome newcomer Zach Galifianakis), and groom-to-be Doug (Justin Bartha), decide to go to Las Vegas for a final free-roaming, binge-drinking evening away from their normal lives, two days before Doug's nuptials are set to take place. Predictably, the drinking begins early upon their arrival, and not surprisingly, the antics begin. The best departure about The Hangover, however, is the intelligent structure of the story from there on out. The bachelors awake the next morning to discover that not only do they not remember a single thing from the night before, but also that their man of the hour, Doug, is missing and nowhere to be found. It turns out that, for reasons the film so elegantly reveals, that the men had been drugged. Their hotel room is in shambles, a baby is found in the closet, and a tiger has set up shop in the bathroom. The three friends are in similarly puzzling positions: Phil finds a hospital bracelet around his wrist, Stu is missing a front tooth, and Alan yet again finds it difficult to locate a pair of pants.
From that point, as the viewer, you're taken on a journey throughout Vegas with the film's three main antagonists, to determine what happened to them and their ride home, Doug. You find out just as much as the three friends do, and at the exact same time, about their night out, which drives up the anticipation of whatever following humorous event the friends discover. The interaction and comedic chemistry between Phil, Stu, and Alan is amazing; the casting couldn't have been done any better. The Hangover also contains cameo appearances from several unexpected characters, including Mike Tyson and several actors who starred in 2003's Old School (one of director Todd Phillips's fantastic previous works). The dialogue and language is crude and offensive, yet appropriate and rip-roaringly funny, and there's even bits of karmic plot points that round out the movie as an extemely well-accomplished work of raucous, constant humor.
Up until this point, Old School only had a small handful of competitive equals, but The Hangover is so confidently funny that it eclipses many of said competitors with ease. Even if somehow you don't begin to enjoy the movie from its opening moments, you'll be unable to stop being washed into the swirling miasma of curiosity and humor that The Hangover possesses. Chock-full of one-liners and hilarious moments, The Hangover is a treat, and unlike hangovers we've all had, will be one you'll be more than pleased to undertake a second time.
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Description of The Hangover - UNRATED (2009)They planned a Vegas bachelor party that they would never forget. Now they really need to remember what exactly went down! A baby? A tiger? Why is one of them missing a tooth? And most of all, where is the groom?! What the guys did while partying can't compare to what they must do sober in an outrageous caper that has them piecing together all their bad decisions from the night before-- one hazy clue at a time. Director Todd Phillips (Old School) and an all-aces comedy cast tie one on... big time! If you like your humor broadside up, hold the subtlety, you'll want to nurse this Hangover with your best buds. The ensemble cast meshes perfectly--it's like a super-R-rated episode of Friends: silly, slapstick, and completely in the viewer's face. When four pals go to Vegas to celebrate the imminent nuptials of one of them, they partake in a rooftop toast to "a night we'll never forget." But they're in for a big surprise: their celebration drinks were laced with date-rape drugs, so when they awake in their hotel room 12 hours later, not only are they hung over, but they can't remember what they did all night long. Oh, and they're missing the groom-to-be. The film is so cheerfully raunchy, so fiercely crude, that the humor becomes as intoxicating as the mind-altering substances. The standout in the ensemble is Zach Galifianakis, who is alternately creepy and hilarious. Ed Helm (The Office), in addition to his memory, loses a tooth in uncomfortably realistic fashion, and Bradley Cooper (He's Just Not That into You) has deadpan comic timing that whips along at the speed of light. "Ma'am, you have an incredible rack," he blares to a pedestrian from the squad car the guys have "borrowed." "I should have been a [bleeping] cop," he tells himself approvingly. Director Todd Phillips brings back his deft handling of the actors and the dude humor that worked so well in Old School, as well as the unctuous Dan Finnerty, memorable as a lounge/wedding singer in both films. But it's the nonstop volley of jokes--most cheerily politically incorrect--that grabs the audience and thrashes it around the hotel room. Just watch out for the tiger in the bathroom. --A.T. Hurley Also on the Disc If the original Hangover was just the hair o' the dog your funny bone needed, then this unrated version, packed with lots of hilarious and raunchy extras, is your drink of choice. This two-disc set includes the theatrical release as well as the unrated version, which extends the original gags (sometimes a bit too far, even for fans of broad, crude humor) and goes to town with risqué scenes that don't bother with double-entendre. The extras are truly delightful and include a great commentary that involves director Todd Phillips and stars Bradley Cooper (Phil), Ed Helms (Stu), and Zach Galifianakis (Alan). All commentaries should be like this--a great conversation with memorable moments and trivia woven into the viewing of the film, so that the commentary itself takes the front seat. There are lots of great behind-the-scenes factoids revealed here, including the fact that it was Galifianakis's idea to wear a jockstrap early in the film as he's getting dressed, giving the audience a full-on shot of his rear. "It was my idea but I regret it to this day," he says. "Though if you look closely, you'll see that the straps of the jockstrap pull up my cheeks and make them shapely." The commentary is just as fun as the film, and it makes the viewer realize The Hangover was a blast to make as well as to watch. Other great extras include a gag/blooper reel, a close-up of "The Dan Band" (the world's worst wedding band), a great clip of actor Ken Jeong's ad-libbed spiels as the crazed Mr. Chow, and an interactive "Map of Destruction" to show where the guys had their misadventures in Las Vegas. But this Hangover is best experienced strictly as an audience member--and this double-disc set is just the ticket. --A.T. Hurley
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