THE HANGOVER (2009)

Summary:

The Hangover is a raucous and unforgettable comedy that follows four friends – Phil, Stu, Alan, and groom-to-be Doug – to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. What begins as a night of celebratory excess quickly spirals into an amnesia-fueled nightmare when the trio of Phil, Stu, and Alan wake up the next morning with no recollection of the previous night's events, a missing Doug, and a bizarre array of unfamiliar objects and creatures in their luxury hotel suite, including a tiger, a baby, and a detached tooth.

As the clock ticks towards Doug's wedding, the remaining three friends must retrace their drunken steps through the chaotic labyrinth of Las Vegas, piecing together fragments of their memory and encountering an increasingly bizarre cast of characters, including a furious Mike Tyson, a naked gangster, and a stripper with a heart of gold. Their desperate search for Doug leads them through a series of hilarious and increasingly dangerous misadventures, all while trying to understand how their night went so spectacularly wrong and where their best friend could possibly be.

Keywords: The Hangover, 2009, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Comedy, Las Vegas, Bachelor Party, Amnesia.

Plot:

The film opens with Doug Billings preparing to marry Tracy Garner. His best friends, Phil Wenneck, a jaded schoolteacher, and Dr. Stuart "Stu" Price, a mild-mannered dentist, along with Tracy's eccentric and socially awkward brother, Alan Garner, are tasked with taking Doug to Las Vegas for his bachelor party. Tracy's father reluctantly entrusts Alan with a Mercedes-Benz convertible, warning him not to damage it. The four men embark on their journey, arriving at Caesars Palace where they check into a lavish suite. On the rooftop, they toast to the impending nuptials with shots of Jagermeister. Alan proposes an additional, special toast, promising a night they’ll "never forget." After consuming the drinks, the screen cuts to black.

The next morning, Phil, Stu, and Alan awaken to absolute chaos in their suite. Doug is nowhere to be found. Stu is missing a front tooth, a tiger is lounging in their bathroom, and a baby is crying in the closet. Their suite is completely trashed, and a chicken roams freely. Phil discovers a hospital wristband on his arm. With no memory of the previous night, the trio begins to piece together the events, starting with the hospital. At the hospital, they learn Stu was treated for a concussion and that they were dropped off by a man named Dr. Santiago, who they don't recognize. The doctor explains that Stu's tooth was not knocked out, but rather pulled out. They also find a receipt for a wedding chapel, indicating Stu got married.

Returning to the hotel, they find the Mercedes-Benz has been replaced by a police cruiser. Inside, they discover a receipt for a very expensive tiger. Their next lead takes them to a pawn shop where they traded Stu's wedding ring for the tiger. The pawn shop owner directs them to a house where the baby's mother might be. There, they meet Jade, a stripper who reveals she married Stu the previous night. She introduces them to her baby, Carlos, who Stu apparently adopted. While at Jade's house, Mike Tyson unexpectedly appears, furious that they stole his tiger. He forces them to watch video footage of their antics from the previous night, showing them stealing the tiger from his mansion. Tyson demands they return his tiger to him.

After a struggle, they manage to sedate the tiger and transport it back to Tyson's mansion. On their way back, they encounter a naked Asian man, Leslie Chow, who attacks them with a crowbar, believing they stole his money. He then reveals himself to be a gangster and locks them in the trunk of the Mercedes. Chow demands his $80,000 poker winnings, which he claims they took. He threatens to kill Doug if they don't produce the money. In a desperate attempt to free themselves, Alan reveals that he has been hiding Chow's money in his satchel, which Chow then retrieves. Chow lets them out, but then drives off, leaving them stranded. They then remember the wedding chapel receipt and head there.

At the chapel, they confirm Stu married Jade. Stu, distraught, calls his domineering girlfriend, Melissa, to confess, but she immediately breaks up with him. Alan then confesses that he roofied their drinks with "roofies" (actually Rohypnol, a date-rape drug) to ensure they had a good time, mistakenly thinking they were ecstasy. This revelation enrages Phil and Stu. As they argue, a police car pulls up, and the officers, whom they apparently stole the cruiser from, demand their vehicle back. The trio makes a frantic escape in the Mercedes, leading to a high-speed chase through the streets of Las Vegas, resulting in the destruction of the car.

With time running out and Doug still missing, they receive a call from Chow, who agrees to exchange Doug for his $80,000 at a remote warehouse. Upon arrival, they find Chow with a man tied up and gagged in the trunk of a car. To their horror, the man is not Doug, but a different Asian man named "Black Doug," who was dealing drugs to Chow. Chow explains that he was never holding Doug, and the man he had was a completely different person. The real Doug, he reveals, was left on the roof of Caesars Palace after Alan's roofie-induced toast. Chow had simply found Black Doug and decided to use him in his scheme to retrieve his money.

Realizing their mistake, the three friends race back to Caesars Palace. They find Doug on the hotel roof, severely sunburned and dehydrated, but alive. He explains that after the toast, he passed out on the roof and was unable to get down, enduring the entire night above the chaos. With only minutes to spare before the wedding, they rush Doug back to Los Angeles. They arrive just in time for Doug to marry Tracy. The wedding proceeds without further incident, much to everyone's relief. As the reception winds down, Alan finds a digital camera in the Mercedes, filled with photos from their wild night. The friends agree to look at the pictures together, and the film concludes with a montage of their previously unseen, outrageous adventures in Las Vegas, including Stu getting his tooth pulled, Alan dancing with a tiger, Phil getting a tattoo, and all of them in compromising positions with various individuals, confirming the full extent of their forgotten debauchery.

Cast (Lead Roles):

• Bradley Cooper as Phil Wenneck
• Ed Helms as Dr. Stuart "Stu" Price
• Zach Galifianakis as Alan Garner
• Justin Bartha as Doug Billings
• Ken Jeong as Leslie Chow
• Heather Graham as Jade

Crew:

• Director: Todd Phillips
• Writers: Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (Screenplay), Jon Lucas & Scott Moore (Story)
• Producers: Todd Phillips, Daniel Goldberg
• Cinematography: Lawrence Sher
• Editor: Debra Neil-Fisher

Release Info:

• Original Release Date: June 5, 2009
• Language: English
• Genre: Comedy
• Running Time: 100 minutes
• Accolades: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy