The Hangover (2009)

When the trailers for this film came out, I thought it looked like another utterly stupid comedy. It employs a familiar concept, no big-name stars, and the characters seemed to embody typical modern comedy stereotypes (the cool guy, the straight man, and the weird awkward guy). Despite all of the warning signals flashing through my brain from the trailers, The Hangover takes all of these conventions and makes them work. The end result is quite possibly the best R-rated comedy of the decade.

Doug Billings (Justin Bartha) is getting married. To celebrate, his best friends and soon-to-be brother-in-law take him to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. The next morning, the guys wake up but Doug is missing. No one remembers what happens but Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) are on the clock. They have to trace their way back through a night they can’t recall in order to find Doug and get him to his wedding, which is just days away.

To complicate matters, the trio of groomsmen has only a few very bizarre clues to work with. There’s a baby in the closet and a tiger in the bathroom, neither of which belong to them. Along the way to solving these other mysteries, there are strippers, naked men bound in the trunk, a stolen police car, Mike Tyson, Asian gangsters and drug dealers. Despite these seemingly insurmountable odds, Phil, Stu and Alan refuse to give up their search for Doug.

The key to this film’s success is its comedic structure. Instead of parading around a few witty characters who are looking to crack jokes or dispense intentional stupid humor a la Will Ferrell or Chris Farley, The Hangover is all about situational and unintentional humor. There have been plenty of lousy ‘what happened to us last night’ and ‘put the zany puzzle pieces together’ films (Dude, Where’s My Car anyone?), so the fact that our main characters must sift through a whole lot of weirdness isn’t original. The individual puzzle pieces themselves are quite hilarious though and it does all make sense in the end.

Phil, Stu and (to a point) Alan are believable characters. That’s one of the hardest things to create in a comedy. These guys don’t exist for the sole purpose of being funny. This refreshing change of pace is probably best supported by not having a major name comedian as one of the leads. Sure, Ed Helms is on The Office, but in a supporting role. Bradley Cooper was mostly a supporting actor until this film as well, and Galifianakis was a virtual unknown to anybody but fans of late night Comedy Central programming. By not having a true ‘star’ to hog screen time and demand funnier lines, the director is able to get what he wants out of his cast.

Again, the main characters are all realistic people. Alan is more than a little odd but he’s not the train wreck I assumed from the trailers. His social awkwardness makes the things he says and does funny. Any other treatment of this character would have been groan-inducing. The same is true for Phil and Stu. Had either of them been more focused on cracking jokes and being a wise guy, the film wouldn’t have worked. Instead, all three are focused on finding their friend. The fear, frustration, confusion and surprise they experience while moving towards that goal is what makes it funny.

This realistic approach also saves the film from coming off as obscene. This is an R-rated comedy that makes full use of that rating. If you do not like swearing, this movie is not for you. There is a ton of it to be found but most of the cursing is used in situationally appropriate ways. The guys don’t merely walk around cursing like sailors because they can or because the writers know that the mere use of the F-word will produce a few chuckles from immature viewers. It proudly wears the badge of vulgarity but is wise to avoid passing the point of no return and degrading into obscenity.

While not truly start-to-finish funny (does such a thing even exist, anyway?), The Hangover packs a heck of a wallop. It’s funny when it needs to be funny, serious when it needs to be serious and cheesy when it needs to be cheesy. I can’t help but wonder if the cast and crew secretly had notes on the failings of all the other successful comedies made in the 2000s. How else could they have possibly made a film that does just about everything right?

If you can handle crude R-rated comedies, this gem is for you. If you have no sense of humor or your ears catch fire at the sound of words unfit for broadcast television, consider yourself warned. The Hangover was a surprise hit in theaters and with me. If you’re skeptical or have heard too much hype about this film, you’ve got to give this one a chance. It just might make a believer out of you too.

RATING: 4 out of 5

Bowfinger (1999)

Who doesn’t love taking a few shots at Hollywood every now and then? The film industry is full of frauds, egomaniacs and naïve fools. Comedic legend Steve Martin manages to wrap all of these industry archetypes into an amusing tale about a bunch of wannabes desperate fulfill their misguided dreams of breaking into the big time.

Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) is trying to launch a career as a film producer. He’s been working at achieving his dream for years but has only managed to save a paltry $2,184 to pay for production. A studio executive gets Bowfinger’s hopes up by saying that he’ll distribute the film if Bowfinger can get Hollywood mega-star Kit Ramsey as the lead. When Ramsey refuses to work on such a low-budget production, Bowfinger is crushed but he doesn’t give up.

Taking the half-baked script, written by an accountant, and a team of overzealous and under-skilled actors, Bowfinger plots to make the film guerilla style- his actors and camera crew will ambush Kit Ramsey in and around Hollywood to get the shots they need while also having him as the unknowing star of their production. Bowfinger has the rest of the cast thinking that Ramsey knows what is going on and is merely ‘method acting’ to portray his confusion. Unfortunately, Ramsey is a seriously paranoid member of the MindHead cult- a connection that seriously jeopardizes the production.

As amusing as Bowfinger is, there is a problem. Viewers who aren’t keen on the intricacies of Hollywood will miss about half of the comedy in this film. That’s not a huge problem but what most people will see is just the zany antics of a bunch of pathetic wannabes. Just under the surface of what appears to be a screwball comedy lays a foundation of satire, black comedy and a slew of Martin’s own observations after years in the business.

It’s a shame that most people will miss out on some of the details. I’m willing to bet that (aside from the guerilla filmmaking) there is an awful lot of truth about Hollywood in this film. Bowfinger tackles a number of ideas: cult of celebrity status, ageism in Hollywood, tired cliché-ridden genre films, the manipulation of young actors, financing and more. The lampooning of celebrity cult-like groups such as Scientology are the most obvious targets but Martin is a sly writer and knows how to avoid the one-trick pony trap.

This film may just mark the last legitimately funny live-action role Eddie Murphy has played (which is sad considering it’s been 11 years since Bowfinger was released) but he rightfully steals the show. First, his manic paranoia as Kit Ramsey is delightful. His other performance as Kit’s awkward brother Jiff, who the crew uses to film some close-ups, is amusing because it’s the first time we get to see Murphy play a nerdy character without the aid of a fat suit. These two polar opposites are fun to watch.

At times it’s hard to cheer for Bowfinger and his band of misfits because they resort to stalker behavior and Bowfinger himself gives in to some of the evils of Hollywood that have frustrated him in the past. Thank goodness no one has attempted to make a real movie by the same tactics on display here. In the end, just about everyone appreciates a good underdog story, which is what this is.

Funny but sadly forgettable, Bowfinger is one of those gems that are worth dusting off every now and again for a few hearty chuckles. Martin may fill his script with winks and nods to those in the know but there’s a little something for everyone here.

RATING: 3.25 out of 5

Boogie Nights (1997)

Wildly weird, shamelessly indulgent and intentionally vulgar, Boogie Nights is director Paul Thomas Anderson’s second major motion picture, the first of his films he was truly happy with, and much, much more.

It seems as if it is a combination swan song and memoir for the “glory days” of pornographic films, while also being a dramatic, complex character study. Boogie Nights is first and foremost an ensemble film. Though his next film, Magnolia, would divvy up screen time more evenly among its cast, Boogie Nights remains largely focused on Eddie Adams (played by Mark Wahlberg) and his path in and out and back into the porno scene.

It’s the 70’s and Eddie wants desperately to become a porn star and he knows just the man to see. Burt Reynolds plays a deliciously shifty porn producer in what may be his best acting since Deliverance. In fact, the entire cast turns out tremendous performances. Each character really has depth to them (a testament to Anderson’s craft), experiencing joy, sorrow and anger. The only way to do this for all the major players in an ensemble film though is to make it long. Ticking in at just over 2 and a half hours, Boogie Nights may be more than some people can handle.

The film runs through Eddie’s foray into porn, the creation of his alter ego (Dirk Diggler) and his rise and fall through porn stardom in the 70’s and 80’s. The sleeze of the industry and the indulgence of the time period are expertly crafted and captured, leaving you feeling a little overwhelmed and unsure as to whether or not it’s okay to like the film.

But it is okay to like. A bit heavy handed and providing more detail than you would probably want, but it is certainly okay to like Boogie Nights.

(I will warn those who are on the prudish side that this film, being about porn, contains lots of sex and nudity and a healthy dose of language and violence- not for the faint at heart)

RATING: 3.5 out of 5