The Hangover Review

It was bound to end in (slight) disappointment. (That’s what she said.)

When you hear from enough critics and regular people (unfortunately, the two ARE often mutually exclusive) that “The Hangover” is the funniest movie of the year — maybe EVER! — you’re bound to be a little let down when ***SPOILER ALERT*** it’s not. ***END OF SPOILER ALERT***

Sure, part of it is my fault. By waiting over a month to see it, I allowed the hype to grow in a way that didn’t affect people who were there opening weekend. Also, please don’t get me wrong — parts of it are damn funny. Still, I actually caught myself over-laughing at certain bits like I was Kevin Eubanks in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno because I felt obliged to find something funnier than it actually was. (This being the funniest movie of all time and all, I didn’t want to feel like I was being left out.)

In case you don’t know, “The Hangover” follows three guys (played by Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis) as they try to locate the friend (Justin Bartha) they lost during the poor guy’s Vegas bachelor party. The guys wake up with no memory of the previous night and follow increasingly bizarre clues in the hopes of finding their friend before his wedding.

It’s not the most complicated concept for a movie in the world (given that it’s basically a less surreal/silly/sanitized version of “Dude Where’s My Car?”), but it’s incredibly effective in that it actively engages the audience’s imagination. You’ll be trying to guess what exactly these guys could’ve done to end up married, hospitalized and with a chicken, a tiger AND a baby in their suite (and the movie is smart enough to withhold the answers until the delightfully obscene end credits).

I actually really enjoyed the first portion of the movie, in which the four lead actors/characters quickly establish a believable and appealing camaraderie. Soon thereafter, the movie’s main plot kicks in and things become REALLY hit or miss.

I’m not here to give the whole movie away, but I found the extended bit in the police station with the taser to be too slapsticky and, ultimately, a waste of time. I also thought Ken Jeong’s performance as Mr. Chow (some sort of extremely effeminate gangster) was WAY over the top. (Almost as over the top as Rachael Harris, as one of the guys’ monstrous girlfriend.) Jeong ended up being more baffling than funny. Mike Tyson’s appearance as himself was mostly effective due to his willingness to make fun of himself (since his acting is kind of terrible).

In fact, the best thing the movie has going for it is its leads. Helms does a funny, more profane variation of his uptight, uncool preppy persona from “The Office.” Cooper, who excels at playing douche-y characters, is the movie’s straight guy and shows real star quality as the de-facto leader of the group. At the very least, he delivers my favorite line of the year: “Don’t text me, it’s gay.”

Still, this movie belongs to Galifianakis, who gives the funniest performance I’ve seen this year. (At least the movie lived up to the hype in that respect). As the bride’s brother, his character is a bit of an outsider from the rest of the group, and watching him try to fit in and become one of the guys is very good stuff. The fact that he may or may not be a little mentally challenged is also gold and makes for a totally unpredictable, sweet, exciting and hysterical performance. He reminded me of Tracy Morgan’s character on “30 Rock” in that you literally had no idea what was going to come out of his mouth — it could be ANYTHING.

In the end, “The Hangover” is a pretty funny movie that weirdly ended up being a little underwhelming for me. Next time, I’ll try to get to the theatre a little faster.

The Hangover…B-