The Hangover

The Hangover does not lose it’s funny factor the more I see it. I still love this movie. It’s kind of amazing, and frankly, I can’t wait to see the followup. What was quite enjoyable about watching it this time was that I watched it with someone who’s never seen it before. She loved it too.


Phil Wenneck: Would you please put some pants on? I feel weird having to ask you twice.

Due Date

Peter Highman just wants to get back to LA in time to be there for the birth of this child, but meeting Ethan Tremblay throws that plan out the window. Through a series of unfortunate events Ethan and Peter end up on a no fly list and decide to road trip together to LA. What ensues is a road picture that would make Bob Hope & Bing Crosby die laughing; Todd Phillips does not disappoint with his follow-up to The Hangover as Due Date does not disappoint.

The best thing about Due Date is the interaction between Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. Comedy chemistry can’t be faked and these two actors have it in spades. While I am partial to the talents of Downey, I have to say that this film would be nothing if Galifianakis couldn’t match him turn for turn. My single favorite scene in the film would have to be the acting exercises Downey’s Highman puts Galifianakis’s Tremblay through to prove his chops; it’s the kind of scene that you know the actors had to loose it in more than once during filming.

The one thing that Due Date suffers from is that it is Phillips follow-up to The Hangover. Too many critic’s and audience members have gone in expecting The Hangover 2 instead of this film, and that’s affected how they viewed it. Due Date presents a whole new sets of scenario’s and jokes than The Hangover and is proof that Phillips can turn out comedy, and not just one comedic film.




Director: Todd Phillips

The Hangover

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Originally uploaded by ranggayang

Three friends and a soon-to-be brother-in-law head to Vegas for the bachelor’s party of a lifetime. The only problem is when Phil, Stu & Alan wake up in their thrashed hotel suite they can’t remember what happened the previous night – or where Doug is. The men proceed to try and follow the clues in their hotel room back to their origins in an effort to find Doug before his fiancée panics and the wedding is off.

If I try to describe The Hangover to you it won’t be funny, but trust me, the film is beyond funny. It’s gross, inappropriate, slapstick, verbally witty, and unexpected and beyond all else an incredibly fresh comedy populated with incredibly charismatic and talented cast. Even the baby was funny.

The Hangover had what it take to make a truly funny comedy – good writing. The film chose to set up it’s jokes without immediately playing them out, something that was shown in the beginning wouldn’t get played into a joke until another act in the film, or they’d be referenced at several other points in the film so that the joke kept getting funnier. There is at least one line in the film that had me laughing so hard that it took me a few minutes to recover.

This is a film that suffers from great comedic timing, and will undoubtedly end up continuing to make great amounts of money at the box office and prove that movies rated above PG-13 can still work in a modern day market.

Director: Todd Phillips
Writers: Jon Lucas & Scott Moore
Phil: Bradley Cooper
Stu: Ed Helms
Alan: Zach Galifianakis
Doug: Justin Bartha
Jade: Heather Graham

Alan Garner: Who's baby is that?
Phil Wenneck: We'll deal with the baby later.
Stu Price: We're not gonna leave a baby in the room. There's a tiger in the bathroom!