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Category:    Home > Reviews > Comedy > The Hangover – Unrated (2009/Warner Blu-ray + DVD)

The Hangover – Unrated (2009/Warner Blu-ray + DVD)

 

Picture: B/B-     Sound: B-/C+     Extras: C+     Film: B

 

 

It is a pleasant surprise to studios when a seemingly tiny comedy directed at young males explodes into a blockbuster hit.  The Hangover is a Todd Phillips’ comedy that chronicles a night in Vegas that a group of friends will never forget…well after they remember first that is.  Many people hope what happens in Vegas truly stays there; but after the night the 4 friends of The Hangover had, they can only be thankful they made it out of Vegas at all.

 

The Hangover starts off simple enough as 4 guys set out to have one last hurrah as their friend Doug takes the plunge down the aisle; in other words, good old bachelor party shenanigans.  Doug (Justin Bartha) is the groom to be, who with his friends the jaded school teacher Phil (Bradley Cooper), the relationship whipping-boy Stu (Ed Helms) and his zany future brother in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis) set out to have the time of their life.  The boys travel to Vegas in style as they drive into town in a luxury convertible and stay in Caesar Palace’s best suite; after prying the credit card out of Stu’s hand.  It is shown early on the Stu is ruled by his tyrannical girlfriend Tracy (Sasha Barrese) who dictates his every move and who he had to lie to, to even come on the trip.  Tracy has a dark spot on her past (which is joked about throughout the film) as she slept with a bartender, when Stu and her were on a cruise; as it is proved time and time again that she is no as infallible as she thinks.  After a quick and comedic Jagermeister toast on the roof of Caesar’s the boys set off for a night on the town; but our next encounter with the fellas is not on the Strip, but rather the next morning.  The film picks-up in a destroyed hotel room with the men strewn about and remnants of the night’s debauchery evident everywhere.  We soon discover that Doug is missing and there is a tiger in the bathroom …yes a tiger in the bathroom.  The night is a blur and the ‘surviving’ members attempt to piece together the night’s events.

 

We are taken on a crazy Memento-type path as the guys find out all that they had done; often times impressed with themselves, but for the most part horrified.  The Hangover is a good film, but is not the above all to end all that many fans describe.  The film is merely an unforeseen success that has many more hits than misses.  The cast works insanely well together and the simplistic, yet creative plot propels the story forward fast enough without feeling too rushed.  If you stop and think too hard about the film, you will be in for a disappointment.  The Hangover is a fun and idiotic film that should be taken with a light heart and enjoyed with laughs and friends.  The film is an out of control adventure that is only heightened by the films engaging personalities filled by Helms, Cooper and Galifianakis.  Whether it is a finding a flamboyant in their trunk, marrying a hooker, stealing a cop car or messing with Mike Tyson The Hangover has enough memorable moments to fill two party films.  It is a fun film that only gets better when watched with others; it is a party like no other.

 

The technical features on the Blu-ray and DVD releases of the film are not the best, but capture the film nicely.  The differences between the theatrical and unrated versions of the film (available on both the Blu-ray and DVD) are so minuscule that you may miss it if you blink.  The unrated version only adds about 8minutes of extended scenes/dialogue, but no gratuitous nudity or language is added as might be expected.  So don’t get too excited.  The Blu-ray features a 1080p/VC-1 encoded widescreen presentation that is nice as it captures the bright colors of Vegas vividly and has solid contrast.  There is a small amount of grain, but nothing too distracting.  The level of detail is impressive as even the most grotesque close-ups are shockingly clear and crisp.  As previously stated the image is nice, but not exactly perfect and the DVD heightens the imperfections as the image does not live up to the Blu-ray.  The DVD’s colors are not as bold, the grain is heavier and lacks a certain crispness overall; Blu-ray is the way to go.  The sound is a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound presentation on Blu-ray that fails to heighten the chaos and antics of the film.  The sound is clear, but does not have the boastfulness or power behind it a crazy film like The Hangover deserves and the DVD’s Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround only fails further as it is crisp, clean and clear; yet overall is bland.

 

The extras are mildly entertaining and the same on both DVD and Blu-ray; except the Blu-ray features some additional footage on BD-Live that added nothing.  The extras include More Pictures From the Missing Camera (that are just more of the same); Map of Destruction (a needless interactive); the Madness of Ken Jeong (best feature on the set); Action Mash-up (physical comedy scenes strung together); Three Best Friends (extended version of the song in the film and just as hilarious); The Dan Band (funny again with more songs); Gag Reel.  The Madness of Ken Jeong is amazingly funny as the flamboyant Asian of the film goes on freestyle rants that are funnier than most of the film.

 

A great comedy that in the right set of mind most mature and not-so mature adults can enjoy.

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II


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