The Hangover (2009)
Belgian postcard by Boomerang. Photo: Legendary / Warner Bros. Publicity still for The Hangover (Todd Phillips, 2009).
The Hangover (2009) is an American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, co-produced with Daniel Goldberg, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in The Hangover trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, and Jeffrey Tambor.
Jon Lucas and Scott Moore wrote the script of The Hangover after executive producer Chris Bender's friend disappeared and had a large bill after being sent to a strip club. After Lucas and Moore sold it to the studio for $2 million, Phillips and Jeremy Garelick rewrote the script to include a tiger as well as a subplot involving a baby and a police cruiser, and also including - as himself - boxer Mike Tyson whose tiger the four friends appear to have stolen. The Hangover tells the story of four friends, who travel to Las Vegas for a 24-hour stag party. Doug, the future husband (Justin Bartha), is joined by his two friends, the schoolteacher Phil (Bradley Cooper) and the dentist Stu (Ed Helms). Joining them is the bride's brother Alan (Zach Galifianakis), an overweight slob with a Haystacks Calhoun beard, and an injunction against coming within 200 feet of a school building. However, Phil, Stu, and Alan wake up with Doug missing and no memory of the previous night's events and must find the groom before the wedding can take place.
Filming of The Hangover took place in Nevada for 15 days, and during filming, the three main actors (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis) formed a real friendship. The film was released in the USA on 5 June 2009 and two weeks later in Europe. It was a critical and commercial success. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it three-and-a-half stars out of four: "The Hangover"is a funny movie, flat out, all the way through. Its setup is funny. Every situation is funny. Most of the dialogue is funny almost line by line. At some point we actually find ourselves caring a little about what happened to the missing bridegroom -- and the fact that we almost care is funny, too." The film became the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2009, with a worldwide gross of over $467 million. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and received multiple other accolades. It is the tenth-highest-grossing worldwide film of 2009, as well as the second-highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the United States, surpassing a record previously held by Beverly Hills Cop for almost 25 years. A sequel, The Hangover Part II, was released in 2011, and a third and final installment, The Hangover Part III, was released in 2013. While both were also box-office hits, neither were well-received.
Sources: Roger Ebert (RogerEbert.com), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
The Hangover (2009)
Belgian postcard by Boomerang. Photo: Legendary / Warner Bros. Publicity still for The Hangover (Todd Phillips, 2009).
The Hangover (2009) is an American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, co-produced with Daniel Goldberg, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in The Hangover trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, and Jeffrey Tambor.
Jon Lucas and Scott Moore wrote the script of The Hangover after executive producer Chris Bender's friend disappeared and had a large bill after being sent to a strip club. After Lucas and Moore sold it to the studio for $2 million, Phillips and Jeremy Garelick rewrote the script to include a tiger as well as a subplot involving a baby and a police cruiser, and also including - as himself - boxer Mike Tyson whose tiger the four friends appear to have stolen. The Hangover tells the story of four friends, who travel to Las Vegas for a 24-hour stag party. Doug, the future husband (Justin Bartha), is joined by his two friends, the schoolteacher Phil (Bradley Cooper) and the dentist Stu (Ed Helms). Joining them is the bride's brother Alan (Zach Galifianakis), an overweight slob with a Haystacks Calhoun beard, and an injunction against coming within 200 feet of a school building. However, Phil, Stu, and Alan wake up with Doug missing and no memory of the previous night's events and must find the groom before the wedding can take place.
Filming of The Hangover took place in Nevada for 15 days, and during filming, the three main actors (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis) formed a real friendship. The film was released in the USA on 5 June 2009 and two weeks later in Europe. It was a critical and commercial success. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it three-and-a-half stars out of four: "The Hangover"is a funny movie, flat out, all the way through. Its setup is funny. Every situation is funny. Most of the dialogue is funny almost line by line. At some point we actually find ourselves caring a little about what happened to the missing bridegroom -- and the fact that we almost care is funny, too." The film became the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2009, with a worldwide gross of over $467 million. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and received multiple other accolades. It is the tenth-highest-grossing worldwide film of 2009, as well as the second-highest-grossing R-rated comedy ever in the United States, surpassing a record previously held by Beverly Hills Cop for almost 25 years. A sequel, The Hangover Part II, was released in 2011, and a third and final installment, The Hangover Part III, was released in 2013. While both were also box-office hits, neither were well-received.
Sources: Roger Ebert (RogerEbert.com), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.