The Hangover was a simple spoof of “man-love” movies, (not a gimmick, just an exaggeration of a very old story line. Although recently there has been an influx of movies based on man-man relationships). A man-love movie is basically a movie about friendship, but I call it “man-love” because the characters are conflicted with admitting their love for each other while trying to maintain their manliness. Another example of a man love film would be Superbad or I Love You, Man. The Hangover is a great example of this type of film because it’s not just one-on-one man love like in the other two that I have mentioned; it’s the journey of three men, slightly estranged, trying to find their 4th counterpart to complete their man-journey; much like in Stand by Me. Oh, and I bet you can guess what a man-journey is.
On the Way to Vegas
The superficial story outline includes a bachelor party to Las Vegas made up of 3 friends and the groom’s brother-in-law; the groom being Doug, bro-in-law: Alan, and the two other friends, Stew, the abused dentist, and Phil, the ironic teacher/badboy. (Because this is a very popular film, I’m not going to give every detail of the story, so be prepared. This is an essay after all). The three are sent off with their quirky new friend in the father-in-law’s 1970′s Mercedes-Benz 280 SE convertible. This is gonna be fun.
Who Let the Dogs Out? Who, who, who?!
Well, it would have been. But this is a movie and Las Vegas, so some shi*s goin’ down. When they first arrive, we can see a lot of panning from above of the city and later, of the Mojave desert. But most of the shots in the movie are quick to switch from character to character, emphasizing the chaos of the film. The director, Todd Philips, also uses the bright background lights to cast shadows on their faces when they’re in the desert and whenever they’re outside. During these scenes, we know that something bad just happened, like the naked Asian man kicking their asses with a crowbar, or during the call of shame to the bride saying they lost her groom. This causes a very effective mood of sadness or loss.There are some fade in’s at the beginning of the film, when it’s showing serene pictures delicate corsages and white laced dresses. Philips utilizes interesting angles through security cameras and a montage of pictures at the end. He also gives wide shots for the audience to infer the time and place of the next scene. For example, after getting a shot of the four of them, the camera pans upward to a city view and fast forwards time till in the morning when it fades to white and then to Stew’s face on the ground. With every transition there is also a song, usually a popular song maintaining the said “party” theme; “Who let the Dogs Out?!” There are also two short songs sung by Alan and Stew. Alan’s song is sweet, and is about their new friendship. Stew’s song is earlier, while they are resting. It seems like he is trying to evoke the gods in helping in their search for Doug. During the latter song, a black and white memory montage is played with shots of Doug in it, bringing the audience back to the main story line. In the slower shots, like in Stew’s house with his girlfriend and when Stew is first awakened from being hung over, the camera is being carried, and the shakiness gives a very realistic view, as if you were following them around in the room. Instead of using animation for the tiger attack, the director uses a doll, making the scene more comedic rather than scary. Added animation is used at the blackjack table scene when Alan is counting cards in his head, (it shows a bunch of numbers and graphs floating around that aren’t really relevant). Some other effects the director used were things like car crashes and quite a few makeup artists were used to create the injuries for this film. These visuals created great effects that really demonstrated the directors skill. I was impressed overall with how these effects made me feel about the action.
There are many symbols in this movie that unite the friendship theme. The first we see is the car, which symbolizes the breaking down of inhibitions. Throughout the movie, the car is destroyed while the three search for Doug, learning about each other, appreciating each other. Next we come upon a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, and Stew’s missing lateral incisor. The tiger and the baby both represent renewal, while the baby leans towards innocence and the tiger leans towards death. We can see this same innocence reflected in Alan, who ends up carrying the baby. Notice also that Alan and the baby are wearing white; white pants and white bonnet.
Innocence reflected
The tiger, which has replaced Doug, represents death, but simultaneously, renewal. With the distinct possibility that Doug could be dead, they search, but only to find Mike Tyson in their room, where he then lays out Alan. They return the tiger to him, and with its return, they experience a sense of relief, (obviously, it’s a tiger). But as they are at Tyson’s house, he shows footage of Doug caught on the security camera, giving them hope and renewing their search for him. They also give back the baby to the stripper, showing their loss of innocence as we learn more about Alan’s sordid past and Stew’s marriage “to a whore”. Direct quote. The Holocaust ring which Stew received from his grandmother was given to this whore, symbolizing Stew’s commitment to bad relationships, as he was intending to give it to his awful girlfriend. Stew also had the hardest time attaching himself to Alan. Lastly, the used condom they find in the Mercedes after getting it out of the impound symbolizes the breaking of bonds; this scene is right before they find out Alan drugged their drinks and fight over it.
Mojave Desert; Post-ass kicking
Roof scene; Bonds are made
Just before they find Doug, the characters all come together. Black Doug says something that helps Stew realize where Doug is; he tackles Phil and takes the phone, fabricating a story to the bride, something he seems to have done quite a bit to his own girlfriend. After obtaining Doug and rushing to the wedding in the beat up Mercedes, we learn about Alan’s less than reputable friends, (a tatted up guy brings him a few tuxedo’s mid-freeway, he explains that’s one of his friends). The whole time Phil is driving the car while talking Doug down, preparing him for the wedding.
I chose this film because I am a huge fan of comedy, not just because of its success in the box office. I’m familiar with the directors other work, Old School, and he used some of the same actors in this movie, like the wedding singer, Dan Finnerty. But they were all cameos, smaller parts. All the actors are seasoned comic actors, but there is still fresh blood introduced, which was very refreshing for me. I think, although I’m not sure, that the actors improvised like in most comedies. Other than all that, I can actually relate to this film. Spending a night with friends and getting totally messed up. Everything is chaos the next day, and you’re all feeling like crap. The shared experience definitely brings you closer. In a sense, this movie has very existentialist values. They decide to view the photos on Stew’s camera, then delete them. It also seems to be a social commentary on what we value in today’s society. Overall, I would say this is a great movie, not just for the comedy, but for its great use of symbolism, the directing style, and the actors abilities.
