The Hangover

Las Vegas is proud enough of its hedonistic reputation that it uses the “What Happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” tagline in its national advertising. The fact that the reputation has reached the mass marketing level is a clear indication that the reputation in its original essence is essentially dead. Going to Sin City with the expectation of mischief by now feels like a cliché. The city is a destination location that knows it all to well, the marketing announces it, and the entertainment industry trumpets an experience of the unexpected that everyone has done before. In this sense The Hangover both falls for and celebrates this expectation of hedonistic pleasures.

The film itself feels like an amalgamation of countless movies about Vegas prior. After a brief introduction to four characters out on a bachelor party, the screen fades into a morning after aftermath that nobody has the memory to explain. Their hotel room resembles something straight out of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The remainder of the film is spent retracing their steps in an effort to piece together the evening in which Doug (Justin Bartha), the groom, has turned up missing. The search is led by Phil (Bradley Cooper), the alpha male with the swagger of Vince Vaughn circa Swingers. He is joined on this quest by Stu (Ed Helms), the perpetual loser nerd who can’t find luck in love and Alan (Zach Galifianakis), a tag-along new brother-in-law exhibiting the mental capacity of Non, if Non were able to speak in Superman II.

This tried and true formula is actually a benefit to The Hangover. Nobody ever truly trashes a room the way Rauol Duke and Dr. Gonzo did in Fear and Loathing. Most guys probing the streets of Las Vegas probably feel as if they have the swagger of a swinger but in reality more closely resemble the nerdish Stu. This dichotomy between what happens in Vegas and what many believe happens in Vegas, between who a man believes himself to be and who he is creates some funny moments. Though the trailers for The Hangover probably rob the actual film of any laugh out loud moments, the movie as a whole is rather humorous from start to finish. There is nothing original in a film showcasing unexpected moments of a cliché, yet The Hangover wisely highlights these limitations and provides what is expected from a trip to a city where the fun that happens there is fleeting but better left forgotten.