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The Hangover

  • 2009
  • R
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
888K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
418
33
Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms in The Hangover (2009)
In Las Vegas, three groomsmen lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, forcing them to retrace their steps in order to find him before the church bells ring.
Play trailer1:07
26 Videos
99+ Photos
Raunchy ComedyComedy

Three buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing. They must make their way around the city in order to find their friend... Read allThree buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing. They must make their way around the city in order to find their friend in time for his wedding.Three buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing. They must make their way around the city in order to find their friend in time for his wedding.

  • Director
    • Todd Phillips
  • Writers
    • Jon Lucas
    • Scott Moore
  • Stars
    • Zach Galifianakis
    • Bradley Cooper
    • Justin Bartha
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    888K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    418
    33
    • Director
      • Todd Phillips
    • Writers
      • Jon Lucas
      • Scott Moore
    • Stars
      • Zach Galifianakis
      • Bradley Cooper
      • Justin Bartha
    • 864User reviews
    • 337Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 13 wins & 25 nominations total

    Videos26

    The Hangover
    Trailer 1:07
    The Hangover
    What's the Joke That 'Joker' Says We Wouldn't Get?
    Clip 3:58
    What's the Joke That 'Joker' Says We Wouldn't Get?
    What's the Joke That 'Joker' Says We Wouldn't Get?
    Clip 3:58
    What's the Joke That 'Joker' Says We Wouldn't Get?
    A Guide to the Films of Todd Phillips
    Clip 1:43
    A Guide to the Films of Todd Phillips
    The Hangover
    Clip 1:02
    The Hangover
    The Hangover
    Clip 0:46
    The Hangover
    The Hangover
    Clip 0:50
    The Hangover

    Photos167

    View Poster
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    + 161
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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Zach Galifianakis
    Zach Galifianakis
    • Alan
    Bradley Cooper
    Bradley Cooper
    • Phil
    Justin Bartha
    Justin Bartha
    • Doug
    Ed Helms
    Ed Helms
    • Stu
    Heather Graham
    Heather Graham
    • Jade
    Sasha Barrese
    Sasha Barrese
    • Tracy
    Jeffrey Tambor
    Jeffrey Tambor
    • Sid
    Ken Jeong
    Ken Jeong
    • Mr. Chow
    Rachael Harris
    Rachael Harris
    • Melissa
    Mike Tyson
    Mike Tyson
    • Mike Tyson
    Mike Epps
    Mike Epps
    • Black Doug
    Jernard Burks
    Jernard Burks
    • Leonard
    Rob Riggle
    Rob Riggle
    • Officer Franklin
    Cleo King
    Cleo King
    • Officer Garden
    Bryan Callen
    Bryan Callen
    • Eddie
    Matt Walsh
    Matt Walsh
    • Dr. Valsh
    Ian Anthony Dale
    Ian Anthony Dale
    • Chow's #1
    Michael Li
    Michael Li
    • Chow's #2
    • Director
      • Todd Phillips
    • Writers
      • Jon Lucas
      • Scott Moore
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews864

    7.7887.6K
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    Featured reviews

    8MovieAddict2016

    Genuinely funnier than any comedy in recent memory

    Most great comedies are based on fundamental truths -- we find a deal of humour in the illumination of our own human tragedy. Office Space is funny, for example, because we've all worked that type of job, put up with that type of boss, and suffered that type of monotonous everyday boredom.

    Todd Phillips' new movie, The Hangover, is as aptly titled as anything else released this year: it's about a Vegas bachelor party gone horribly awry, in which the groom inexplicably disappears, no one can remember a damned thing, and Mike Tyson wants his tiger back.

    Yes, we've all had those nights, though perhaps not to such extremes (that's where the exaggeration of comedy serves us). The Hangover is funny because it takes this cultural ritual -- an American tradition; something almost all of us can relate to -- and finds genuine humour in the pain of its aftermath.

    I concede that bachelor party movies are not in short supply; the genre (if it is, indeed, a genre) should have probably both begun and ended with the Tom Hanks flick almost three decades ago. But The Hangover wisely studies the day after rather than the day itself; this is funnier because the plot works backwards, without tacky flashbacks, and much of the evening in question is left to our imagination.

    While it would be misleading to claim this is a brilliant film (in either regard – as comedy or character study), it's an assured picture that finds its footing immediately and achieves a surprising level of sustenance throughout its running time. And frankly, let's be honest, this is a breath of fresh air: it's one of the best R-rated comedies of the decade, and certainly the most uproarious since Superbad was released two years ago. Most R-rated comedies produced today are defiant; the R-rating has become a hindrance to film studios' sensibilities – everything is PG-13, saving the shameless Unrated schpeel for the DVD cut. The occasional theatrically-released R-rated comedy, as such, is infrequently modest; the ads stress the rating to remind us what we've been missing. For every legitimate offer, such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, we're treated to movies like College that attempt to lure us into theaters based on the promise of raunchy decadence. The problem is that it's all so coldly calculated; these films are not funny because a majority of the time they are simply lazy and dishonest.

    The simplest reason for The Hangover's success in being genuinely funny is the fact that it achieves a rare balance of character and vulgarity. We laugh at the characters' misfortunes because we like them, we empathize with them, and they are distinctly actualized. Are they stereotypical? To a certain degree, sure: we have the repressed pussy-whipped guy who obeys his girlfriend's every command (Ed Helms); the weird John Belushi-esquire figure who speaks in non sequiturs and naïve absurdities (Zach Galifianakis); and the womanizer whose confidence renders him automatic leader of the group (Bradley Cooper). It's a testament to the strengths of these actors that they make their characters endearing and believable, even in the face of total lunacy.

    Helms has been an underrated highlight of the American Office for the past several years, never quite earning the praise he deserves. His character on the show is played with pitch-perfect perversity: he's not overtly creepy (like the program's other weirdo, Creed), but rather subtly unnerving. Helms invests a great deal of nuance into what is ostensibly a throwaway, supporting goofball; this movie, if nothing else, will justly reveal his talents.

    Cooper uses his looks to his advantage: it's funny to watch handsome people exploit their securities. Cooper essentially turns your typical Leading Man figure into a bumbling idiot, self-absorbed and clueless. It's effective, he's got great chemistry with the other guys, and it's fun to watch such an immoral and ruthless character take center stage in a mainstream comedy.

    Galifianakis, a cult comedian who I've admired for years, has been struggling quite a while. Not many people other than myself and Sean Penn saw his 2001 comedy Out Cold, probably because it wasn't all that great; but he was easily the most amusing aspect of the picture. He once described himself as being gifted by the opposite of the Midas touch, with more than a few canceled TV shows to his credit (including Comedy Central's unheralded Dog Bites Man), but it seems his persistence has finally paid off: he has discovered, at last, a movie of strong enough quality to reflect his talents. Galifianakis has a fair share of the film's funniest dialogue; as far as fat funny guys go, many of them (such as Chris Farley) made the ill-fated mistake of playing dumb in a sharp fashion: hurtful quips and silly one-liners, all self-aware. Galifianakis plays his character straight and the laughs are subsequently heartier; when he embraces his brother-in-law while nude, the act seems innocently awkward rather than deliberately awkward, and that's what makes it so funny. He's described in The Hangover, by another character, as a child with a beard. Imagine how funny it is when he names a Caucasian baby Carlos, without any shred of condescension or knowing humour.

    The Hangover is surely destined to become the sleeper comedy hit of 2009, and, more likely, a cult flick in the years to come. It's more deserving of such acknowledgment than many recent successes, and while we may live in an era saturated with unnecessary sequels, I actually left The Hangover hoping to see these guys again. And that's a rare feeling these days.
    Michael_Elliott

    Great Cast, Great Fun

    Hangover, The (2009)

    *** 1/2 (out of 4)

    Four buddies head off to Vegas for a bachelor party but the next morning they wake up not knowing what happened the night before and discovering one is missing. They must then try to retrace their steps and locate the missing buddy. I'm always a bit hesitant to fall into the mass market when it comes to something popular because a lot of times I end up watching the film and it turns out to be a major disappointment but that's not the case with this gem because it lived up to its reputation and in my opinion passed them. I'm not going to call this the greatest film of the year but I might add it's the most original. You'd think a comedy about getting messed up in Vegas would be "been there, done that" but this takes a familiar set up and does something original with it. Instead of showing us the crazy party night, we don't see a second of it and instead we're thrown into a mystery and the laughs come from trying to figure out that mystery. For my money the screenplay is nearly flawless as it does a great job at building up our thoughts on what happened but the film then takes us to places that you certainly won't see coming. The majority of the laughs come from things that you normally wouldn't expect like a masterful scene involving a trunk. Even the jokes that you do expect (strippers) is done extremely well and with hilarious results. I won't ruin many of the jokes because of the "mystery" behind them is what makes them work so well but there were several scenes where tears were running down my face from laughing so hard. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis give terrific performances and their chemistry and comic timing with one another helps push the film even further. The three make for an excellent team and watching this film makes it look like the trio had been working together for years because they come off so well together. Heather Graham isn't too bad in her role and the great Jeffrey Tambor even gets a nice laugh. You really have to respect a movie that takes a familiar plot and mixes it up to the point of it being completely original and most importantly, downright hilarious. I hate labeling films when they're so fresh but I would be shocked if this movie isn't looked at in ten years the same way we look at "dirty" comedies like NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE and PORKY'S today.
    8joecunningham14

    deusexmachinafilm.blogspot.com

    If there's a film that will be sold on word of mouth alone this summer, it's The Hangover. With a funny but unspectacular trailer, a plot (guys go to Vegas for bachelor party and crazy things happens) that seems overly familiar, and stars who are relative unknowns there's nothing to suggest anything hugely promising. But those who have seen it can surely testify that it's a 24-carat piece of comedy gold, for once you can believe the marketing moguls...we have been graced by the sleeper comedy hit of the summer. On closer inspection it shouldn't actually have been that surprising, Todd Phillips occupies the director's chair and his previous output includes such hits as Road Trip, Old School and Starsky and Hutch. 'The Hangover' though easily surpasses those by merit of providing regular and consistent laughs amidst backdrop of a frenetic and unrelenting morning after.

    The problems most comedies face are that they have to put all their best laughs in the trailer, so by the time the film comes around the funniest parts lose their impact and the rest of the film is disappointing in comparison. This is a problem The Hangover sidesteps masterfully. Yes we know they wake up with no memory of what went before; there's a baby, a tiger, a chicken, a missing tooth, someone's married a hooker and (in an unsurprisingly bizarre cameo) Mike Tyson turns up...but these moments, albeit hilarious, aren't what make the film tick. The heart of the film is in the chemistry between the three leads; Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) are likable and identifiable enough for an audience to go along with events that could quite easily in another context seem ridiculous. Alan in particular is a character that could really grind your gears if he turned up in certain films, as part of the affable trio however he grows on you immensely.

    This success may partly be credited to casting unfamiliar faces but the actors themselves deserve huge credit. Cooper may already be slightly familiar to some and is undoubtedly a star in the making (having been cast this week as Faceman in the new A Team flick), Helms is best known for his stint in the US version of the office, Galifianakis though has come completely out of the blue and it wouldn't be at all a surprise to see him follow a career path similar to Seth Rogen's post Knocked Up. The missing groom Doug (Justin Bartha) also deserves an honourable mention for slotting effortlessly into the group when around, it's a shame the plot requires him to go missing for the most part. There's also perfectly pitched cameos for Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, Ken Jeong and best of all Rachael Harris who is magnificently vile as the hapless Stu's wife.

    Phillips has no qualms puts his characters through the wringer, there's one shocking revelation after another as the people, animals and events they encountered the night before come back to bite them on the ass during the search for Doug. As the audience know as little as the characters do the reactions ring true, they suspend disbelief as colossally silly events are only matched in magnitude by the sound of laughs in the theatre. The Hangover never quite lets up - the laughs even continue way into the credits - so it should come as no surprise that a sequel is already being planned. Having come up with something so fresh here the producers will have to be careful not to suffer from a hangover themselves the second time around.

    Verdict: Brilliant chemistry and a few plot tweaks make The Hangover better than you could possibly be expecting going in. It's funny from start to finish and is guaranteed to have you leaving the cinema with a smile on your face.
    8salahuddin125

    Very Funny movie especially for male audience

    Humorous movie in every aspect.

    I watched the movie at a preview screening at UBC, so the audience were all college students. Everyone I talked to so far had loved this movie.

    The tale of how three friends tries to find the lost groom before his wedding after their crazy night in Las Vegas. The movie gets funny from the Las Vegas part right till the end. There is hilarious stuff in every other scene. Not to be missed, one of the best comedy of 2009.

    The entrance of Chinese goon is Hilarious, will have you in splits. They have touched on all types of jokes especially the minor mention of the different sex (gay, interracial, beastiality) The only movie that I can think of that is relatively similar is Harold & Kumar. I recommend everyone to watch it (not for kids), you wont regret it.
    8Bubach92

    A really funny movie

    I can not remind myself that I've laughed this much for a long time. Everything from start to finish offers a wonderful blend of humor, so I think everyone will find something they like in this movie. It's hard not to find a favorite character because all the characters have so many things to offer.

    After seeing this movie for the third time, I think it has exactly the same charm as the first time. I will probably look at it many more times in the future and that says a lot about the movie. I recommend it to anyone who has not seen it and if it's been a long time since you saw it, watch it again! It's worth it.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      No effects or prosthetics were created for Stu's missing tooth. Ed Helms never had an adult incisor grow, and his fake incisor was taken out for the parts of filming where Stu's tooth is missing.
    • Goofs
      The formal name for "roofies" is given as "Ruphylin". The drug is really a trademark brand named Rohypnol, but was changed for the movie because the makers did not want to be associated with the depicted criminal activities.
    • Quotes

      Stu Price: She's got my grandmother's Holocaust ring!

      Alan Garner: I didn't know they gave out rings at the Holocaust.

    • Crazy credits
      First part of the end credits feature a collage of photos showing what happened that night.
    • Alternate versions
      The UK release was cut, this film was originally shown to the BBFC in an unfinished version. The BBFC advised the distributor that the film was likely to receive an 18 classification but that the requested 15 classification could be obtained by making one change to visuals in the closing credits. The BBFC suggested that brief shots in which a man is being fellated by a woman, with clear sight of an apparent erect penis in the woman's mouth, be removed. When the finished version of the film was submitted, the shots had been removed and the film was classified 15.
    • Connections
      Edited into Yoostar 2: In the Movies (2011)
    • Soundtracks
      It's Now or Never
      Written by Aaron Schröder (as Aaron Schroeder), Wally Gold, Eduardo Di Capua (as Eduardo DiCapua), Giovanni Capurro and Alfredo Mazzucchi (as Alfredo Mazzuchi)

      Performed by Robert 'El Vez' López (as El Vez)

      Courtesy of Graciasland Records

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    FAQ26

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    • Where did the chicken come from?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 5, 2009 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Germany
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • ¿Qué pasó ayer?
    • Filming locations
      • Caesars Palace - 3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA(location)
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Legendary Entertainment
      • Green Hat Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $35,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $277,339,746
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $44,979,319
      • Jun 7, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $469,328,922
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 40 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • SDDS
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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