Post Ferrell Comedy with new Star Zach Galifianakis: The Hangover

With a film like The Hangover so much depends on the acting and chemistry between the actors. I was not aware of any of the three main leads in the film bar Bradley Cooper. I only remember Bradley Cooper from Wedding Crashers where he did such a good job being smug and obnoxious that I actually started to wonder if he was smug and obnoxious. Here Cooper dispels that myth by turning in a likable performance who along with two others have ended up losing the groom of the wedding. Zach Galifianakis steals the show often, playing the funny guy to the straight act of the two others. The script works nicely without ever really grinding or becoming too predictable and unlike this years I love you, Man, The Hangover successfully paints a sweet natured view of male comaraderie without slipping into all out sentimentality or homoeroticism. The manner in which unlikely caper is topped by next unlikely caper called to mind Scorsese's After Hours, What Todd phillips has made is a lighter altogether less surreal After Hours. Its an improvement over his earlier effort Old School and arguably works better without any huge stars attached. Its almost certain to be very popular and very likely to make Galifianakis a star. It has some delightfully un P.C moments as when Galifianakis openly laughs about driving around completely wasted on booze. Heather Graham does a fine job in a cameo as a stripper and still looks great enough to pull it off, recalling the fine old days of roller girl. Tyson just about keeps it together in a one note cameo. Its to the credit of The Hangover that it ducks being too overtly laddish. It is true that women are sidelined in the film, having only a handful of minutes in screentime but the narrative calls for as much. It surpised me being a better film than I had anticipated, the funniest is saved for last with a great credit sequence in which we get to see the activities of the night displayed in a camera found. Best comedy so far this year.