Round Two at the movies: "The Hangover" ... I actually went to the movies with the most minimal expectations. There have been a slew of comedies (many flops) with similar, lame titles: "Knocked Up", "The Hang Up", "Wedding Crashers", and now, "The Hangover". There seems to be so many movies in the past decade centered on the theme of three "bros" - all very different from one another- usually one who is whipped by his dominating spouse, one bad boy with the killer looks, and the funny one; sometimes they overlap. "Old School", "40 Year-Old Virgin", and most of these movies are entertaining yet formulaic....posing the question: "How many times can a storyline be exhausted?" However, what makes "The Hangover" worth watching is not the premise, but the well-crafted dialogue between actors and their comedic timing. The randomness of the film- absolutely ludicrous situations in which they seem to find themselves: Mike Tyson's tiger in their villa bathroom, a baby in a cabinet, a mising tooth, and a femenin, Asian mafiahead in the back of a stolen Police car's trunk- gets the laughter flowing. We know these situations are highly implausible, but Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and the odd-man-out, Jack Black-type Zach Galifianakis, form a dynamic trio and show a bit of their vulnerable side during a spontaneous journey. As an audience member, you did feel on the same page with the characters; whatever they knew, so did you.
It's interesting that most film comedies that are successful, financially and emotionally, are those with male leads. Let's face it, women and men are going to be drawn to the theater to see a male road trip movie. There's something in it for everyone: Women get to look at Bradley Cooper and drool as well as get further insight into the male psyche, and men get to reaffirm their male psyche in an insanely funny experience (this frequently includes a handful of partially naked and young women, either romantic lead or extra). "The First Wives' Club" doesn't really compare, does it?
