The Hangover
for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material.
Reviewed by: Ethan Samuel Rodgers
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Extremely Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Adults |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Length: | 1 hr. 36 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2009 |
| USA Release: |
June 5, 2009 (wide—3,200 theaters) DVD: December 15, 2009 |
Drunkenness in the Bible
Are you good enough to get to Heaven? Answer
How good is good enough? Answer
What advice do you have for new and growing Christians? Answer
How do I know what is right from wrong? Answer
How can I decide whether a particular activity—such as smoking, gambling, etc.—is wrong? Answer
Should I save sex for marriage? Answer
How can I deal with temptations? Answer
What are the consequences of sexual immorality? Answer
| Featuring | Bradley Cooper, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike Tyson, Ken Jeong, Rachael Harris, See all » |
| Director |
Todd Phillips “Old School,” “Road Trip,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “School for Scoundrels” |
| Producer | BenderSpink, Green Hat Films, Legendary Pictures, See all » |
| Distributor |
 Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company |
“Some guys just can’t handle Vegas”
It seems as though every time a new teen party movie comes out, people begin muttering “Hey, this could be the next Superbad.” Bad news, “The Hangover,” this isn’t the comedy you’ve been waiting for. Two words can sum up my entire review for this film: just don’t. I mean it, if there’s one ounce of your jiminy cricket conscience mumbling “maybe I shouldn’t see this,” run, don’t walk, in the opposite direction of the theater.
The story is simple, too simple actually. Even for a “Film de Debauchery” this one lacks any sort of layering in its plot construct. Four friends go to Vegas for a bachelor party and, after a night of partying, lose the groom and have to find him in time for the wedding. That’s it, there’s nothing else, no side plots, nothing. By this I mean, turn down your dumb dial on the way in; you’ll just be miserable if you don’t.
If the plot’s not enough to drive you crazy, the lack of intellectuality in the humor will make you want to rip your hair out, or go and slap the ticket boy at the front of the theater for allowing you to spend 8 dollars on this movie. Director Todd Phillips finds ways to push the envelope in nearly every scene of the film, and he relies heavily on “shock value” for laughs. Sure, the situations they get into are humorous, but how hard is it to generate chuckles when you’ve set yourself up with this premise?
The script was also a letdown, as was the performance of Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Justin Bartha. Zach Galifianakis literally carried them through 96 minutes of “one thing after another,” and had he not been in this, the whole film might have been a bust as he earned nearly every bit of every star that I gave this film by himself.
The most depressing part of it all was the trailer reveals a majority of the best sequences. If you watched the trailer like I did, you just lost 50% of the laughs easily, and honestly, what would have been the best ones. The rest of the film is mostly just Zach Galifianakis making nonsensical jokes while Ed Helms rants and raves about how terrible his life is while rubbing the gap where one of his front teeth used to be, followed by Bradley Cooper shouting a profanity about how miserable their situation is: i.e., “Man we’re so F____ed!”
I won’t go into the moral details too much. Let’s be honest, it’s rated R; it’s a film about grown men partying so hard they can’t remember an entire night. You as a viewer don’t need me to spoon feed you or tell you that you should tread carefully. I will say that, if you have a problem with any curse word under the sun, male butts, topless women, or sexual innuendo, don’t bother. There’s a plethora of the above listed, as well as a few even more deeply disturbing photographs shown during the credits that I won’t even mention.
I suppose the worst news of all is that it’s been announced that “The Hangover 2” will begin production next year, and considering I just saw the midnight showing of the first installment, that’s a little dismaying. So, for you comedy buffs out there that really are intent on seeing this, hey, who’s going to stop you (maybe your parents, I suppose), but believe me, the lack of layers in the story, the nonsensical dialogue, and the overall “wow, I can’t believe that I just saw that while sitting in a movie theater” factor, probably will leave you at least a little disappointed. So to answer the now two year-old question “Is this the next Superbad?” Nope… Just nope.
Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Extreme
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
The movie contained several positive messages, including the need for fortitude in the face of an abusive relationship (i.e. the dentist and the girl who slept with the bartender), the strength of single mothers (i.e., the stripper supporting her child), and the awful effects date rape drugs can have (i.e. the roofies that started it all). This movie also showed the strength of friendship in the face of a completely insane situation that most individuals can relate to, but perhaps not to this extent; in fact, the situations shown are a metaphor for the day-to-day idiocy we all face. The movie is rated R for a reason; that said, if by age 17 or older, anything presented is foreign or shocking, your parents have failed at raising you.
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½
It’s ironic kinda. I know guys like these Hangover guys. Not in my circle of buds, but people I know nonetheless. I’ve been on a trip where the guys loose their minds and go berserk with just enough alcohol in their system. They trash their hotel and do just about everything short of the Vegas marriages, cop car robberies, and tiger kidnappings. Good grief. WE (collective term) really are a depraved society.
Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
On the whole, it’s overrated in the humor department. I also counted over 65 uses of the F-word in the film. That alone should discourage any Christian from renting or buying this film. I am quite thankful I rented this for $5 instead of paying $10 to see it on the big screen. Quite frankly, it’s not worth the admission price, and I do regret renting this DVD due to its objectionable content.
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Whatever hopes we had that the actors and celebrities that appeared might be, after all, decent people. The photos in the credits proved that wrong. I would be ashamed to have my baby, child or family member appear in such a film. It was nothing more then a way to slip in porn and profanity. The only problem with the “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” theme is that this garbage got out of Vegas and is polluting screens across America. Anyone that goes to Caesars in Vegas after seeing this film is clearing sponsoring this kind of filth.
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive
When a baby is found in the room, the first suggestion is to leave the baby in a closet with the belief the baby would eventually be found. But they decide to take the baby with them, which turns out terrible for the baby. The baby is carried by the perverted sex offender in a papoose and is in intimate contact with the pervert through a large part of the movie. During a scene, the pervert sets the baby in a chair next to him. He reaches over to the front of the baby’s diaper and jerks his hand back and forth. He laughs and asks, do you know what this is? He says, the baby is masturbating. He reaches over and does it a second time. None of the characters react to stop this from happening. See all »
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: ½
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: ½
No, what is really surprising is just how well-constructed this movie is. Granted, it does have a straightforward premise to work with: four men party so hard they can’t remember what happened and they have to find out. But what could have been a trail of random sequences meandering about Las Vegas is instead a crafted mystery tale. It even starts with a classy mise en scene, then flashes backwards two days to where the story begins. Three friends are holding a bachelor party for a fourth friend, and they go to Vegas. They arrive, take a suite, and promise each other they’ll have a night to remember. Time lapse to the next morning. They don’t remember. But they do know those missing hours were wild, because they wake up in their suite with a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, and a missing bridegroom. Main mystery: Where’s the bridegroom? Subplots: How did everything else get there? The beautiful thing is, all those subplots relate to one another, and to the main plot. Like I said, this isn’t a bunch of randomness stringed together for easy “laffs.” This is a tight script executed by talented actors and a director who knows just how to make the humor serve the story instead of the story serving the humor. And it really works. On a side note, the music and the cinematography are also brilliantly handled, as are the other technical elements. The opening credits, while short, are especially beautiful. And the end credits--well, beautiful isn’t the right word, but they are certainly the way the movie should have ended.
Now that you know that the movie, as a movie, is effective, let us move on the moral elements of the story. This is a no-brainer. If you feel strong convictions about watching a movie about four men who party hard for one night--despite the fact that it lands them in a lot of trouble, and that almost the entire run-time of the film is devoted to showing the consequences of that foolishness--then don’t watch it. Just don’t judge those who have watched it, even if they enjoyed it. Scratch that, actually. We all judge people. As much as we say we don’t judge, we do. The best we can do is temper our judgment with logic and respect. Realize that someone enjoying a movie like this--one with gratuitous language and sexual situations--is no worse than someone enjoying a movie like “Braveheart” with its gratuitous and brutal violence. And I know many, many Christians who love “Braveheart.” Some may say, “Oh, but it has good morals because he was fighting against the English, who were wronging them.” Watch again--he didn’t care about fighting until the Englishmen killed his wife. That movie is about revenge, and the glorification thereof. This one is about four men who party hard; the glorification thereof is arguable. Which is worse? Actually, I enjoy both movies tremendously. Just have the maturity to handle them. And if you don’t have that maturity, then demur. Simple as that.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4½