The Hangover

Directed by Todd Phillips

(R)

***

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A bachelor party goes terribly awry.

The premise of The Hangover—four friends head to Vegas for a bachelor party—is hardly a new one, said Rene Rodriguez in The Miami Herald. But director Todd Phillips gives it a perversely brilliant spin, making this one lost weekend you’ll want to remember. It’s not the bachelor party that’s so hilarious but the morning after. The buddies wake up with no recollection of what happened the night before and must piece together the evening’s events. It all plays out like a sick, “sun-drenched comic mystery,” said Desson Thomson in The Washington Post. The Hangover could have easily turned into another buddy movie or Vegas romp, but instead it’s like “Memento featuring the Three Stooges.” Phillips, who showed his ridiculous sense of humor with Old School, not only understands the art of surprise but also the importance of pacing. And let’s not forget the importance of a good cast, said Ty Burr in The Boston Globe. His funnymen, in particular Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms, make this worst-case-scenario morning after seem “howlingly funny.”