The Hangover (2009)

Movie of the week

Even without an all-star cast and huge budget, it’s not hard to see how The Hangover won over audiences. It is smart and funny, and looking back it was one of the best comedies of last year.

Whereas most trailers show all the funny moments in one 60-second clip, this movie packs enough laughs to keep you busy for the first hour.

Overall, it is hilarious from beginning to end. Even Mike Tyson shows up for an oddball cameo appearance as himself.

Synopsis

Only two days before his marriage to Tracy Garner, Doug Billings, his two friends Phil Wenneck and Stu Price and Tracy’s eccentric brother Alan head out together to party in Vegas. They rent a pricey villa at Caesar’s Palace and head for the rooftop to have a good time.

Three of them wake the next day with a hangover and are unable to recall what happened the night before. With the villa in a wreck, they find that they have a baby in the closet and a grown tiger in the bathroom. Stu is missing a tooth and has a prostitute for a bride, and Doug has vanished.

Chaos ensues as the trio attempt to retrace their steps so they can find Doug and bring him home in one piece before the wedding.

Scene 1

(Doug and his friends drive to Vegas.)

Alan (A): It says here we should work in teams. Who wants to be my spotter (1)?

Doug (D): I don’t think you should be doing too much gambling tonight, Alan.

A: Gambling? Who said anything about gambling? It’s not gambling when you know you’re gonna win. Counting cards is a foolproof system.

Stu (S): It’s also illegal.

A: It’s not illegal, it’s frowned upon (2), like drinking on an airplane.

Phil (P): I’m pretty sure that’s illegal too.

A: Yeah, maybe after 9/11, where everybody got so sensitive. Thanks a lot, bin Laden.

D: Either way, you gotta be super smart to count cards, buddy, OK?

A: Oh, really? Well maybe we should tell that to Rain Man because he practically bankrupted a casino, and he was a retard (3).

P: What?

A: He was a retard.

Scene 2

(Phil, Stu and Alan wake in the morning but cannot find Doug. Unable to remember anything about the last night, they retrace their steps to a hospital.)

Doctor: OK, here we go. Patient name, Phil Wenneck, 2:45 a.m. Arrival. Minor concussion, like I said. Some bruising. Pretty standard.

S: Do you mind if I look? I’m actually a doctor.

Doctor: Yeah, you said that several times last night. But really, you’re just a dentist. OK, this is interesting. Your blood work came in this morning. They found a large amount of Ruphylin in your system.

P: Ruphylin?

Doctor: Roofies. Commonly known as the date-rape drug.

P: What, so, what are you saying, I was raped last night?

Doctor: Actually …

(He checks the report.)

I don’t think so. But someone did slip (4) you the drug. I’m not surprised you don’t remember anything.

A: Doc, none of us can remember anything from last night. Remember?

P: Yeah. How could someone have drugged all of us?

Doctor: I wouldn’t worry about it. The stuff’s out of your system. You’re gonna be fine.

P: Wait, wait, wait. Please, doctor. Is there anything else? Like, something we may have been talking about, or some place we were going?

Doctor: Actually, there was something. You guys kept talking about some wedding last night.

P: You know what? I want the $100 back.

Doctor: No, no. Easy. You kept talking about some wedding you just came from. At the, uh, Best Little Chapel. You kept saying how sick the wedding was and getting all crazy about it. OK, I hope this helps. I really have to leave.

P: Best Little Chapel, do you know where that is?

Doctor: I do. It’s at the corner of Get A Map and F––k Off. I’m a doctor, not a tour guide. Figure it out yourself, OK? You’re big boys.

Scene 3

(Everyone is surprised to learn that Stu married a stranger last night.)

A: Hey, Phil, what about my dad’s car?

P: I’m sure Doug has it. We’ll get it back.

S: Then I vote we torch the cop car and all this s—-–t with it.

P: Torch it? Who are you?

S: I don’t know, Phil. Apparently I’m a guy who marries complete strangers. This whole situation is completely f——ked. These mugs. This hat. This car. It’s all evidence of a night that never happened. That is why we’re torching all of it.

P: Whoa, I’m a school teacher, I got a family, OK? I’m all for secrecy (5), but I’m not gonna torch a cop car.

S: Fine. I’ll do it.

A: Can I help?

S: Yeah, thanks.

P: And how exactly are you gonna do that?

A: Easy. You just pour kerosene over a ferret, light it on both ends, put it in. They’re attracted to the gas lines.

S: What? A ferret?

A: Yeah. Yeah. Or a tamed raccoon, but it’s a lot of trouble.

S: Does it matter if it’s tamed?

A: Yeah, because if it’s untamed, it won’t take the kerosene as well.

Vocabulary

1. spotter: a person or thing that watches or observes

2. frown upon: look disapprovingly upon

3. retard: disparaging term for a mentally impared person

4. slip: here it means to sneak something in (a drink)

5. all for secrecy: here it means ready to keep a secret

(By Wang Yu)