The Hangover

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianackis
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 8/10

When watching the trailer for 'The Hangover', you may be fooled into thinking this is another throwaway comedy- stock characters, unbelievable shenanigans, and perhaps a gratuitous celebrity cameo to boot. All of these elements are in place, but don't be fooled- 'The Hangover' is a legitimately hilarious comedy.
Initially, you have the usual plot- four guys head to Vegas for the bachelor party of a lifetime. They wake up in the morning in a hotel suite, missing any recollection of the night before, a tooth, a man-purse/satchel filled with Bellagio chips- and the groom. There is also evidence of the same old hijinks- a stolen cop car, a hooker's baby, Mike Tyson's tiger- however, what makes The Hangover stand out is that all of these outlandish props have actually been considered- there is an equally hilarious act of the film linking back to props in this hotel suite. Rather than leaving details of the bachelor party to the audience's imagination, we discover throughout the film every act of the debauchery that occurred the night before.
There are the usual stock characters in there, too- the likeable-but-cocky team leader (Cooper), the nice-guy with the superbitch girlfriend (Helms) and the psychiatrically imparied one (Galifianackis). However, unlike must comedies, we get as real sense of team spirit from these three; rather than constantly competing for the role of the 'funny guy', they work together- increasing the sense of comradeship in the film and making the laughs seem effortless.
There is also the usually un-funny celebrity cameo in the from of Mike Tyson. Although he's not going to be winning any Oscars any time soon, Tyson's rendition of Phil Collins deifintely got a few laughs and, unlike most cameos, Tyson actually contributes to the plot; he both explains the prescence of the tiger, and advances the trio's efforts to find the missing groom.
All in all, despite the subjectivity of comedy, The Hangover seems to appeal to the masses- it's hilarious, which always helps, and has also been clearly thought through-this attention to detail has definitely paid off. On a final note, I implore you to go see this film at the cinema- the comedy of the film was amplified tenfold when I was surrounded by other people who were laughing so hard they had popcorn spilling out of their mouths.