The Triangle

Issue date: 6/5/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Warner Bros.

In "The Hangover," Todd Phillips (best known as the director behind "Old School") utilizes an excellent cast to catapult this surprisingly clever film into a league of comedies that averages three times the star power and twice the budget.

Despite a poorly-cut trailer that suggests that the movie's only asset is a cameo from Mike Tyson, "The Hangover" proves to be a well-written, funny comedy that should bode well at the box office.

Doug (Justin Bartha) and his childish soon to be brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis) are preparing to embark on a bachelor-trip to Las Vegas with Doug's two best friends, Phil and Stu. Phil (Bradley Cooper) a misanthropic school teacher, prepares for the trip by padding his gambling budget with the money for his students' field trip and Stu (Ed Helms, a subservient dentist, gets his domineering girlfriend to agree to let him go by telling her they're touring wineries in Napa Valley (instead of strip clubs in Vegas).

After a night of heavy partying, Alan, Stu and Phil wake up in their destroyed hotel room, minus Doug and plus a large Bengal tiger. As things begin to look increasingly grim for Doug's reappearance, it is left up to them to retrace their steps, find Doug and deliver him in time for his wedding; however, the deeper they delve into their forgotten night, the stranger it becomes. They are made to endure several life-threatening situations and forced to buy more time with Doug's fiancé so that they can attempt to track him down.

The acting is superb. Galifanakis, who is known primarily for his stand-up routine and not for his acting, is hilarious as the peculiar Alan. Cooper dials in the perfect level of sardonic wit for Phil the schoolteacher, who is all too happy to escape his responsibilities for a weekend of wild fun. Helms gives an excellent performance as well as the spineless Stu, whose girlfriend (according to Phil) cheated on him with a carhop (or bartender, depending on when he's asked).

Cooper and Helms, despite playing memorable characters in "Wedding Crashers" and "The Office" respectively, have mainly been relegated to supporting roles prior to "The Hangover." Both deliver and prove their ability to advance the plot instead of merely support it. Cooper describes this as an asset, saying that their relative lack of fame kept them from "being bigger than the characters."

Cooper, who honed his comedic chops under the tutelage of veteran comedy directors David Wain and David Dobkin, credits Phillips with creating a movie that transcends the typical comedy.

"It's a much more cinematically-minded movie [than the typical comedy]," Cooper said, noting the time-skipping structure of the film and the mystery-driven plot.

Overall, "The Hangover" delivers exactly what it promises: an unpretentious, raunchy comedic experience.

"The Hangover" is now playing in theaters nationwide.

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