The Hangover Part III

Today I saw The Hangover Part III, starring Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis.

The Wolf Pack is back—this time to save Doug (Justin Bartha) from Marshall (John Goodman), a drug kingpin that has a score to settle with Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong).

The group is en route to get help for Alan (Galifianakis), who has gone off his meds in recent months, when they get kidnapped by Marshall's goons. Their task? To bring Mr. Chow (and the gold he stole) back to Marshall.

Through Alan's lasting friendship with Chow, they're able to locate him and the adventure begins.

Along the way, they're forced to return to the scene of the (first) crime, Las Vegas (oh, darn) where Alan falls for his soul mate, Cassie (Melissa McCarthy). There's also a visit to Jade (Heather Graham) and a heart-stopping cliffhanger that will never allow me to view Caesar's Palace the same way again.

It's all good fun—even if not as raunchy or laugh-out-loud as the first two—and great to see these actors, who have such a fun chemistry with one another, back for another ride.

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The Campaign

Last night I saw The Campaign, starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis.

Cam Brady (Ferrell) is used to winning—he's been the congressman in a small North Carolina town for years and is running unopposed for another term.

Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) is the son of a prominent man who has always desired the approval of his father, though has no experience in politics.

The Motch Brothers (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd) want a puppet they can control (and develop Chinese sweatshops) to take power, so they move in and groom Marty to beat Cam.

Going into films like this, I'm often prepared to learn that the funniest scenes were in the trailer, but here I was pleasantly surprised. There was plenty of funny to go around.

Ferrell never goes into his signature George W. Bush impression (as I feared) and is just slimy enough to echo an actual candidate.

Galifianakis is sweet and consistent throughout—maintaining his effeminate mannerisms even after his team has "toughened" him up.

The supporting players are there just enough to let the two leads do their thing, and their thing is hilarious.

There is language and sex, but what was thankfully missing was bathroom humor. And perhaps that's why I liked it so much. At least two scenes had me in tears, I laughed so hard.

I love it when a comedy does that to me.

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The Hangover

Tonight I saw The Hangover, starring Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis.

I never expected to laugh this hard at a guy buddy movie.

You see, a couple days before Doug (Justin Bartha) is scheduled to get married, his buddies Phil (Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and future brother-in-law Alan (Galifianakis) take him to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. Pretty normal scenario, yes? Sure, it is. Until everything goes horribly wrong.

First, Phil decides that the double rooms they've booked won't be good enough for their one-night party, so he talks the group into reserving the $4000+ suite, which the desk clerk refers to as "pretty awesome."

Then Alan, the obligatory "overweight guy" who desperately wants to fit in, pours everyone a shot of Jagermeister on the rooftop of Caesar's Palace and toasts the occasion. After that, no one remembers a thing until the men (minus Doug) wake up in their completely trashed environment amongst food, vomit, broken glass, live chickens, a baby and Mike Tyson's tiger. Yes, Mike Tyson's tiger.

In an attempt to find the missing groom, the men re-trace their forgotten steps using credit card receipts, eyewitness accounts—even a hospital wristband—only to encounter surly doctors, giddy wedding chapel owners, Chinese mobsters and (thankfully) the baby's mother.

To give away even one of the hilarious scenarios or jokes would screw up the fast-paced rhythm of this comedy, so I'll refrain. But I will say, with very little bathroom humor, screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore manage to make scene after scene laugh-out-loud funny.

While most of the dialog is surely geared toward men, the majority of what happens to them is universally funny. Old-fashioned slapstick in some ways; cleverly sarcastic in others.

Overall, a very satisfying, silly romp leading up to perhaps the best end credits since Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

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