Jason Segel is an actor who inspires awe and amusement in me. This giant oaf of a man never ceases to make me chuckle in his countless roles as the sensitive, sort stupid guy with a propensity for spazzing. You may remember those pleading puppy dog eyes from such hilarious productions as television’s Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared or the giggle-fests such as Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. So when Jason Segel’s twitter informs me that, “FYI. The Hangover is hilarious”, I figure that is one little piece of advice that I can take to the bank.
And so I bid farewell to the hideous pile of homework collecting on my desk and headed to the local cinema. I sat amongst the blonde, tanned, and texting nubiles and their scruffy “BFs” and prayed that Jason Segel would not forsake me. The movie opened at the end, creating “How did they end up here” predicament. This choice of opening indicates some sort of plot development is going to ensue so that already puts this film a cut above the usual comedic productions. I don’t want to blow anyone’s mind here but this film had all the basic necessities of plot such as: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and a Denouement, while at the same time being ridiculously funny! The creators even went so far as to break out some fancy foreshadowing. It was nice to see a movie that was funny but was clearly not written entirely around the jokes. An added bonus is that there is hilarity outside of what you’ve seen in the preview! *cough* Year One *cough*
The Hangover follows a group of four guy friends throwing a bachelor party in Vegas. They hit a bump in the road when they end up loosing the husband to be. Sounds pretty uninspired and lame right? But hilarity ensues when they discover they have all been ruffied and can’t remember all the asinine and unimaginable things they got up to the night before. This concept alone would not have made it to the level of hilarious without this motley crew at the helm. I believe Todd Phillips deserves a pat on the back for making a successful comedy despite the fact that his name is NOT Judd Apatow. Pretty boy Bradley Cooper plays a pretty convincing jackass, lothario but it is Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis that make the movie riotously hilarious. Almost everyone already knows Ed Helms as Andy Bernard from The Office and he plays a sort of similar character who is more anal and badly “pussywhipped” by his domineering girlfriend. Zach Galifianakis literally came out of nowhere to play the part of Alan, the groom’s brother in law to be who is questionably mentally disabled and likens himself to a wolf. Galifianakis steals the show as he continually neglects social graces and makes a continual ass out of himself (literally).
I realize that my last couple of reviews have all been positive and that is not to say that I have not seen some totally crap movies this summer *cough*Wolverine: Origins*cough*. But I will say that with a full summer schedule I am being much more selective about what I will take the time to see and am generally more psyched to write about movies that I absolutely loved. I would advise that movie-goers looking for a good buddy comedy skip “I Love You Man” which barely elicited a giggle and go see this movie which almost made me pee a little.
Warning: This movie features the exploitation and questionable depiction of babies. Adorable babies named Carlos who wear aviators, cruise in stolen cop cars and have a general badass swagger.
No comments:
Post a Comment