Okay, this is silly. Sometimes I find myself ruminating for days, even weeks, about a movie I've seen, trying to find the right words to describe it. Usually, this happens when a movie is somewhat middle-of-the-road, and I can't really decide whether to hang left or right. In the case of The Hangover, though, I haven't been feeling wishy-washy. I've just been hoping to get the chance to see it again.
This recent work of genius was directed by Todd Phillips of Old School fame. He also directed Starsky and Hutch, a film which I love dearly, but which hardly deserves the acclaim this most recent film has received. The Hangover is a film that manages to be about debauchery and depravity, all while leaving (most of) the specifics to the audience's imaginations. It is sometimes sweet but never hokey, and showcases performances that are both nuanced and hilarious by each of its three stars - Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis.
Perhaps these three actors hold the secret to this films allure, even its greatness. Phillips' past movies have been commercially successful, starring old kings of the Hollywood comedy scene: Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson. These are funny guys, but they aren't exactly full of surprises. Of Hangover's stars, the most famous is probably Helms, who comedy fans know from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Office. This is a cast that earns the movie some indie cred, particularly with the addition of Galifianakis, who carries his creepy-hilarious schtick straight from the stand-up circuit to every gut-busting scene in this film.
No film can succeed on its cast alone, and there is much to be praised about The Hangover's unconventional storyline and plot points. One co-worker described it to me as a "funny Memento" and I really like that take. Of course my first thoughts were of my beloved Hitchcock films, like Vertigo or North by Northwest in which no one really knows the secret to why strange events are unfolding until deep into the film. But The Hangover is a comedy, and a great one at that, offering us surprises scene after scene that don't merely perplex, but amuse. Greatly.
Still, it's hard imagining even a unique, fresh script like this one riding so high if, say, Matthew McConaughey had played Cooper's sexy rule-breaker, with Ben Stiller as Helms' henpecked worrier, and (god forbid, though I love the man sometimes) Will Ferrell as Galifianakis' creepy, possibly-insane brother-in-law. With the same lines, the same delivery, it just wouldn't have been the same movie. While I'd love to see these three actors (the actual stars, not my suggested celebrities) in more films together (maybe The Hangover 2, already in development), I should probably be wishing for something entirely different: a whole new slew of comedies starring the unsung, dimmer stars of Hollywood, just waiting to go supernova*.
If this film is any indication, that could be a very good – and lucrative – development.
*Yes, I realize that, technically, "going supernova" would not be an ideal fate, as supernova is the last stage before a star explodes/burns out. But some stars never even get to that point in Hollywood (see: Lindsey Lohan)! Plus, it was just too poetic to pass up. Deal with it.
