It's Been Five Years, And "The Hangover" is Still Something Special

Left to right: Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, and Bradley Cooper

No seriously. I can recall where I was at midnight five years ago to this day. I was at the Century Theater in Huntington Beach, CA. I had decided to have a night out with my friends  by going out to see a movie. We had bought tickets for Land of the Lost, but as we sat in that theater, waiting for the midnight screening, we decided to bail for The Hangover across the way. In a packed theater, full of rambunctious parties, we sat in the front row for what would become a formative experience in comedy. What followed was some of the most unexpected, vulgar introductions to the new comedy elite and the moment where Phil Collins became relevant again. It was a film unlike any other because more than any other comedy of the past five years, it remains as noticeable as its first night.

For the most part, I came out considering The Hangover this generation's Animal House: a raucous comedy of rebellion that would define the era. While it is true that John Landis' film will forever be more iconic, Todd Phillips' take on bachelor parties run amok has been no slouch. It won Best Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes. It is the highest grossing comedy in box office history. It spawned two mediocre sequels, a two time Oscar nominee (Bradley Cooper), and... Ken Jeong. Can't win them all. Its legacy was established since opening day with audiences flocking to see this booze-addled tale. Not since Wedding Crashers had a film captured the zeitgeist to the point that even my mother saw this film with her gal pals.

This is quite an achievement given how unexpected the payoff actually was. Nobody expected this film full of nobodies to make a splash. Even if Zach Galifianakis was popular in the alternative comedy circuit with "Live at the Purple Onion," nobody was ready for his dry wit and depiction of mental illness. Upon first seeing the trailer during the midnight screening (yes, 2009 was a big year for me and those) of Watchmen, I wanted to write it off. It felt very hoaky with every gag feeling heightened. At the point that I was sneaking into it, it was more to avoid being left alone seeing what turned out to be an atrocity to the Sid and Marty Kroft legacy.

There hasn't been a comedy since that has captured the zeitgeist in quite as noticeable a way. At work that weekend, we were already swapping quotes and recounting scenes. I had friends dressing up in the now iconic "bearded guy with baby" look. To this day, I see people walking around in t-shirts about the "Wolf pack." It is a film that seeped in quickly and gave Phillips his masterpiece: a feat originally thought to be achieved by the equally engaging surprise hit Old School.

There have been countless parodies and references to the series. It has become the face of "bro cinema" in that it is the stereotypical guy film. Even with the sequels proving to have diminishing returns, the trilogy made quite a profit. Even then, there's very little that people can recall of Part II or Part III with fondness. It just reflected that the idea was lightning in a bottle and that recapturing the magic wasn't possible. At best, it would just seem sad and depressing to see these alcoholics still insulting each other and killing animals for no discernible reason. Also, Justin Bartha's kidnap in the third film only reflected how pointless his character really became.

So was it the raunchiness that made The Hangover the sustainable hit? It was a contribution, yes. Even if the film remains a predominantly boy's club affair, the film managed to outshine then bigger box office draws like Will Ferrell. When it all comes down to it, the film's success comes into its subversion of very old genre tropes set against broad humor. The film is more intelligent than its characters, and that is its biggest strengths. Where the sequels would eventually play to particular actor's foibles, the first one was a perfect dose of these three fairly unproven performers that not only reshaped comedy, but became the definitive film about Las Vegas, NV.

Watching it for the first time, the things aren't apparent. Where is the groom (Bartha)? After getting blacked out drunk, the adventure is in figuring out where he is. By starting the film at the end, its ability to wraparound is an unappreciated key to its success. We know where things are going with Cooper making a phone call to admit that they screwed up. So, how did we get here? In comes the rest of the film to share the story and answer the inevitable question by spending a day wandering the streets of Las Vegas as they deal with police (Rob Riggle), thugs (Jeong), Mike Tyson and a hooker (Heather Graham) that Ed Helms married. The scenarios alone are curious when the morning after comes and we see the remnants of the party from the night before. It is chaos shot beautifully in this quizzical manner.

So what is the success to The Hangover? It is the fact that it may be one of the most original updates of film noir of the 00's. Yes, there have been films that play more respectfully with the format, but what makes a good mystery? Not knowing the next step. Yes, the actual hunt for clues doesn't hold up upon rewatching it, but in the process, we get this wonderful depiction of a city's less glamorous lifestyle. It is violent, perverse, and all of the right elements for a film like The Big Sleep or D.O.A., only with less male nudity. Speaking as nobody has the charisma of Humphrey Bogart, the three detectives meandering through the mission is rather funny and in true fashion, leaves a lot of questions unanswered while getting the big picture. It allows the comedy to take on deeper context.

The film works because it tricks the audience into watching one of the least pretentious film noirs in history. The mystery is modern life and having to deal with the inevitable maturity. Even if the film glosses over that, it knows how to have fun. It plays loose and fast with its format and barely makes things work. This isn't a story of gratified expectations, but one that follows an unfortunate law that boys will be boys. With countless characters only making the puzzle more mixed up, the end wedding, with accompaniment from The Dan Band, is the least satisfying thing. The film definitely suffers from a sense of sexism, but that is to ignore the focal point of the story: men.
The sequels never quite lived up to the film's reputation. Part II was considered the same film by many, but set in Bangkok and featuring monkeys and lady boys. Coming out on the coattails of The Hangover, it was a film with intent to be a smash (which it technically was). So was Part III, which tried to shake up the formula only to lose its magic in vulgarity. Maybe these films will likely tarnish the legacy of this Phillips film down the line, but one must not be so quick to forget the impact that the film has had. Not only in reconstructing film noir and comedy, but in making something people care about. With Phillips being the renegade frat boy director that he is, he has made a nice niche for himself, even if he never has quite topped it (though I argue that Due Date gets a little bit of a bad rap). 
At five years old, The Hangover is a film that may not be as funny as most people remember, but the magic isn't strictly in the comedy. It is in the chemistry of its cast, riffing endlessly in obnoxious ways. We remember the first time that we see Galifianakis get tazed by a kid as Riggle says "In the face." We remember that surprise where Jeong burst from a trunk naked. The whole film serves as a reminder of the chaos that can happen after a wild night. As the closing credits play Flo Rida and show images that were developed from that night, things get weirder and we're left with mixed feelings. It was a great night, but would we really want to get into that much trouble again?
It doesn't seem likely that The Hangover could regenerate as another film. No matter how hard many films try, there hasn't been one as withstanding or iconic since. Nobody has looked at the category of "The Funniest Movies Ever" and had a general consensus as strongly as The Hangover. The film's legacy may be very young, but at five years, it is one of those fond moments where I remember being there at the beginning of the whirlwind. It isn't my favorite film, yet I don't regret calling it the Animal House of this generation. It is nowhere as good, but it does become ingrained in your head almost immediately as something more special.