SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: THE HANGOVER

"THE HANGOVER"
(2009) (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Heavy	Moderate	Extreme	Minor	Moderate

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Heavy	None	None	Heavy	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Extreme	Minor	Minor	Heavy	Moderate

QUICK TAKE:: Comedy: When a groom-to-be ends up missing after a wild night in Vegas, his two best friends and future brother-in-law try to find him by piecing together what occurred since none of them can remember anything.

PLOT:

It's supposed to be a big day for Doug Billings (JUSTIN BARTHA) and Tracy Garner (SASHA BARRESE). After all, they're to be married in just a few hours, but there's one little hitch. Doug's best friends, teacher Phil Wenneck (BRADLEY COOPER) and dentist Stu Price (ED HELMS), along with Tracy's goofball brother, Alan (ZACH GALIFIANAKIS), seem to have lost the groom.

Having traveled from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for some bachelor party festivities, the foursome apparently partied so hard that they don't remember what happened or know what's come of Doug. The story then rewinds two days when Phil, Stu and Alan regain consciousness the morning after, with Doug missing.

In his place is a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, and Stu missing a tooth, but with a wedding band on his finger, indicating he's now married to stripper Jade (HEATHER GRAHAM). That's bad news for him, considering his live-in girlfriend, Melissa (RACHEL HARRIS), cuts him no slack.

But they have bigger concerns, what with the repercussions of the drugs that dealer Black Doug (MIKE EPPS) gave Alan and consequently got them in trouble, not only with the law, but also an effeminate but ruthless crime figure, Mr. Chow (KEN JEONG), as well as former boxing champion Mike Tyson (MIKE TYSON) who isn't too pleased with the foursome's previous nighttime outing.

With time running out and only scant memories of what they did, the trio try to find Doug by piecing together what happened on that wild night.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: It's a good bet many male teens will want to see it.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: Considering what occurs in the film (profanity, wild and sometimes unlawful behavior, drinking, sexual behavior and such), it's unlikely many, if any parents would consider any of the major characters as good role models.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated comedy. Profanity consists of at least 91 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue and song lyrics (some of that being explicit) are present, as is all sorts of sexually related material and comedy. Nudity (male full frontal and rear, female bare breasts) occurs in several scenes, and still photos show a woman performing oral sex on a standing man, while images of other sexual behavior are also seen.

Violence includes the striking of others, a person being shot by accident in the shoulder, a stun gun demonstration, and a man cutting his own palm as a blood brothers sort of behavior. Some of that has bloody results, but not too much, while all sorts of potentially imitative behavior is present, as is some brief slapstick style material.

Drinking and drug use are present, including the aftermath where the characters can't recall what happened the night before. Crude humor is present, as are all sorts of bad attitudes.

Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are varying amounts of camera movement in the film, including one moment where the camera is located on Stu's body looking at him, thus making him seem stationary while the background moves all about behind him.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Phil and Stu drink beer in the backseat of the convertible Doug is driving, with Phil saying he drives great when he's drunk, and Stu jokes that Phil is their designated drunk driver.
Stu states that Melissa was drunk when she cheated on him in the past.
All four guys do shots up on the roof of their Vegas hotel, with the other three unaware that Alan has spiked those shots with what he thinks is ecstasy, but turns out to have been Rohypnol (roofies, the date rape drug). They then do more shots.
Alan comments on them looking for strippers and cocaine while in Vegas.
The morning after a wild party, we see that the guys' hotel suite is trashed, with many empty bottles scattered about, and Phil, Stu and Alan suffering from hangovers and no memory of what occurred the previous night.
A doctor confirms that Phil (and by default the others) had Rohypnol in his system.
Alan admits he thought he slipped ecstasy into the shots the guys were drinking on their first night in Vegas, stating he did so to make them have a better time, adding that he does ecstasy three times a night. They then realize the drug dealer Alan bought that from gave him roofies instead, with Stu saying Doug is probably lying face down in a ditch somewhere with a meth-head "butt-f*cking his corpse."
The guys tell Tyson that they tend to do "dumb sh*t when we're f*cked up."
The guys put roofies in a raw piece of steak that they feed to a tiger (so that it can be transported back to Tyson's home while drugged).
Stu sings a song about crystal meth tweakers.
We see surveillance footage showing the guys being intoxicated the night before, including holding bottles and Stu vomiting onto a car.
Phil has a drink in a casino where others drink.
It's noted that Black Doug is the world's "sh*ttiest" drug dealer.
Alan and Stu have drinks at a wedding.
When a wedding singer gets to the word "high" in the theme song from "Fame," he makes an exaggerated pot smoking gesture.
Phil has a beer and Stu has a drink.
We see a montage of still photos from the guys' wild night in Vegas. They include shots of the guys drinking, and Carrot Top apparently snorting cocaine or something similar.

BLOOD/GORE: Phil has a bit of a bloody lip.
To do a blood brothers sort of thing, Alan slices his palm with a knife (some blood), but the others don't go along with that. We later see him with a bandage around his hand.
We hear Alan urinating in a toilet and he ends up doing the same on the floor as he turns to look at a tiger that's in the bathroom with him.
We see that Stu's missing one of his front teeth, with somewhat of a bloody gap being present, while he also has a bit of a bloody lip.
Stu vomits.
A man has a little blood in his shirt over his shoulder after he's been accidentally shot.
Phil has a bloody lip and some blood on his shirt after a man attacks him and the others.
Phil has some bloody scrapes on his neck from where a tiger clawed him.
We see surveillance footage showing the guys being intoxicated the night before, including Alan urinating in a swimming pool, and Stu vomiting onto a car.
We see a montage of still photos from the guys' wild night in Vegas. They include shots of Stu pulling out his own tooth with pliers, resulting in several views of his bloody mouth.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Various comments and/or portrayals of certain characters may be offensive to some viewers. That includes "You guys are f*cking retarded," "Don't text me, it's gay," "Paging doctor faggot," "He was a retard," "Ladies" (men), "She is a complete bitch" and "Not you, fat Jesus." Then there's the portrayal of Mr. Chow with potentially offensive stereotypes regarding him being Asian and gay or at least highly effeminate.
Phil removes money from envelopes that he's possibly either stolen from students or taken as bribes.
Alan says he can't be within 200 feet of a school or a restaurant that appeals to kids (but doesn't give any explanation why).
Melissa is demeaning and mean toward and completely controlling of Stu, her live-in boyfriend. That results in him lying to her about his trip with his friends as well as various calls from the road about said trip.
Phil and Stu drink beer in the backseat of the convertible Doug is driving, with Phil saying he drives great when he's drunk, and Stu jokes that Phil is their designated drunk driver (some viewers might not like such joking).
Alan purposefully lies to Doug about a lane change while driving and if it's safe to perform, with a big truck nearly hitting them and causing Doug to swerve his car.
About Melissa, Phil states, "She is a complete bitch."
Alan jokingly moves an infant's hand and arm up and down to simulate the child masturbating, stating that he's "jacking his little wienus."
With Alan wearing a newly discovered infant in a pouch hanging on his front, either he or Stu opens the back door of a car that accidentally whacks the child (we hear but don't see the impact -- played for laughs).
While driving down a sidewalk in a stolen police car, Phil uses the loudspeaker to tell a cleavage-revealing woman that she has an amazing "rack."
Alan kicks a cell phone from a boy's hand after that student took a picture of him with it while on a school tour of the jail.
Phil lies to Tracy on the phone about what's happened to them and Doug.
Phil tells Alan, "You're such a f*cking moron" and that he's literally too stupid to insult.
We see surveillance footage showing the guys being intoxicated the night before, including Alan urinating in a swimming pool and the guys stealing Mike Tyson's tiger.
Chow repeatedly makes fun of Alan being fat, including him falling from a car while climbing out of it.
Chow and his goons have kidnapped a man and hold him hostage until the guys pay him $80,000.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" may be unsettling and/or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material, but most of it's played for over-the-top comedy.
The guys put roofies in a raw piece of steak that they feed to a tiger (so that it can be transported back to Tyson's home while drugged). Stu then goes to give that to the tiger, but it rears up and claws at him and he flees from the bathroom. Later, it regains consciousness in the backseat of their car, clawing Phil on the neck before all of them bail out of the car (all played for laughs).

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handguns/Tazers: Carried and/or used to threaten or wound others. See "Violence" for details.
Two cops burst into Jade's place and aim their handguns at Phil, Stu and Alan.
One of Chow's goons shows he has a handgun in his waistband.
We see a montage of still photos from the guys' wild night in Vegas. They include shots of Doug and Alan separately holding and perhaps firing shotguns.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "We f*cked up," "I f*cking hate my life," "A big f*cking mistake," "She f*cked a sailor," "Are you guys just f*cking with me?" "Whatever the f*ck we want," "Holy f*ck," "What the f*ck /happened last night/is that/is going on?" "A great f*cking time," "I am so f*cked," "Sh*t, a f*cking cop," "On the corner of get a map and f*ck off," "You're f*cking crazy," "You crazy m*therf*cker," "This whole situation is completely f*cked," "We're f*cking blocked," "F*ck this sh*t," "Every f*cking day," "Really f*cking funny," "F*ck those guys," "F*cked up beyond..." "You gonna f*ck on me?" "Some f*cked up sh*t," "You f*cking calm down," "You're such a f*cking moron," "F*ck you," "Butt-f*cking his corpse," "We tend to do dumb sh*t when we're f*cked up," "Oh f*ck," "F*ck this tiger," "Toodledo, m*therf*ckers," "We are so f*cked," "I don't f*cking believe it," "We are f*cking back," "F*ck that sh*t," "You guys are f*cking retarded," "You f*cking asshole," "You were really f*cked up," "No f*cking way," "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Except herpes. That sh*t will come back with you," "Holy sh*t," "That is bullsh*t," "No sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Sh*t happens," "Sick sh*t," "Beat to sh*t," "We gotta get this sh*t together," "Let's get our sh*t together," "I don't give a sh*t," "Then we're sh*t out of luck," "Who gives a sh*t?" "You're the world's sh*ttiest drug dealer," "Easy with that sh*t," "He's jacking his little wienus," "You have an amazing rack," "He was gonna eat my d*ck," "You're cracking my balls," "Right in the nuts," "I got jizz on me," "I married a whore," "Suck my d*ck," "You're a d*ck," "Don't text me, it's gay," "Where the hell are you guys?" "I'm/I was freaking out," "Shut up," "Nerds," "He was a retard," "Are you crazy?" "Ladies" (men), "What the hell /is that/is going on?" "She is a complete bitch," "How the hell did you find this place?" "Man-purse," "One-man wolf pack," "I am so screwed," "You're freaking me out," "I look like a nerdy hillbilly," "How the hell did we manage that?" "Chick," "We call this place Loser-ville," "Not you, fat Jesus," "You're literally too stupid to insult," "Dumb ass," "Such a bad ass," "Chill out," "Douche-bag," "Shut up, bitches," "Bitch" (men), "Crazy ass" and "Pissed off."
Alan and a dog lick each other's mouths.
Phil jokingly uses a loudspeaker to call Stu from his house by saying "Paging doctor faggot."
Alan purposefully lies to Doug about a lane change while driving and if it's safe to perform, with a big truck nearly hitting them and causing Doug to swerve his car.
To do a blood brothers sort of thing, Alan slices his palm with a knife, but the others don't go along with that.
Alan jokingly moves an infant's hand and arm up and down to simulate the child masturbating, stating that he's "jacking his little wienus."
With Alan wearing a newly discovered infant in a pouch hanging on his front, either he or Stu opens the back door of a car that accidentally whacks the child (we hear but don't see the impact -- played for laughs).
We see that the guys somehow stole a police car the night before, and Phil then drives that down the sidewalk, using the loudspeaker to tell people to get out of the way.
A miscellaneous woman shows a bare midriff, as does Jade in a later scene.
The guys put roofies in a raw piece of steak that they feed to a tiger (so that it can be transported back to Tyson's home while drugged).
The guys gamble (blackjack) to try to earn enough money to pay back Mr. Chow.
Phil gives "the finger" with both hands to security cameras in a casino.
We see some miscellaneous people with tattoos, while Tyson has some as well.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): Some songs had lyrics that we couldn't fully hear and/or understand, thus presenting the possibility of them potentially containing something objectionable.
A song has lyrics including (but not limited to) "Take it off. You gotta shake it off baby, for me."
A song includes uses of the "f" word and what sounded like something about smacking a girlfriend's butt.
Stu sings a song about crystal meth tweakers and "then we're sh*t out of luck."
A wedding singer performs a song that contains sexually related lyrics and innuendo, including "I'll take you to the candy shop. I'll let you lick the lollipop. Go 'head girl, don't you stop. Keep going 'til you hit the spot," "You gonna back that thing up or should I push up on it?" "If you be a nympho, I'll be a nympho. In the hotel or in the back of the rental. On the beach or in the park, it's whatever you into. Got the magic stick, I'm the love doctor," and "Climb on top, ride like you in the rodeo."
When a wedding singer gets to the word "high" in the theme song from "Fame," he makes an exaggerated pot smoking gesture.

PROFANITY: At least 91 "f" words (5 used with "mother," 5 used sexually), 41 "s" words, 9 slang terms using male genitals ("d*ck," "shaft," "wienus," "lollipop" and "magic stick"), 2 for breasts ("t*ts," "rack"), 13 hells, 8 asses (4 used with "hole"), 3 damns, 15 uses of "Oh my God," 8 uses of "G-damn," 5 of "Oh God," 3 of "Jesus Christ," 2 each of "Jesus" and "Oh Jesus" and 1 use each of "God," "Oh dear Lord" and "Oh my God."

SEX/NUDITY: Some songs have sexually related lyrics. Please see that category for more details.
A sign in Vegas reads "nude" and "100s of gorgeous girls."
Tracy's dad holds a magazine that shows a bikini-clad woman on the front.
While being fitted for his tux, Alan tells the man measuring him to watch it as he's getting too close to his "shaft," with Doug explaining the inseam is being measured. We then see that Alan is in a t-shirt and what appears to be a jock strap as his bare butt is seen from several angles, including when he hugs Doug.
Tracy's dad jokes with Doug that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, "Except herpes. That sh*t will come back with you."
Melissa complains about bachelor parties and the strippers who "dry hump" and grind on the stage.
About Stu lying to his wife on the phone about their plans, his friends are disappointed in him, with Phil pointing out that she "f*cked" a bellhop on a cruise ship. Stu corrects that, saying it was a bartender, that she was drunk, and that it's okay as the man didn't "come inside her" as she's grossed out by semen. Later, one of them reminds Stu, "She f*cked a sailor."
Alan comments on something not being illegal, such as masturbating on an airplane.
We see Stu shirtless and in just his underwear.
As the guys enter an elevator, a man who was kneeling down in front of a woman's crotch suddenly stands up and her dress goes down, suggesting he was performing oral sex on her (no nudity or actual contact is seen).
Alan comments on them looking for strippers and cocaine while in Vegas.
The morning after a wild party, we see a blow-up sex doll (open mouth, bare breasts, etc.) in the bathtub, while we see what's presumably a hooker (only seen from the waist down) sneak out through the front door. Moments later, we see part of Alan's bare butt as he's wearing just a t-shirt, while Phil is shirtless.
Alan jokingly moves an infant's hand and arm up and down to simulate the child masturbating, stating that he's "jacking his little wienus."
At a pool, we see various women in skimpy bikinis (lots of cleavage, varying amounts of butt cheeks) and some shirtless men.
While driving down a sidewalk in a stolen police car, Phil uses the loudspeaker to tell a cleavage-revealing woman that she has an amazing "rack."
The guys talk to a doctor who's examining an older male patient who's shirtless. That doctor then does a hernia test on the man (telling him to cough). That contact is not seen, but we then see the man's bare butt, and the younger men are grossed out by that sight.
We see a Vegas sign about nude strippers.
A male wedding chapel official comments on the guys being crazy the night before, including Stu who was going to eat his "d*ck."
We see a photo of Stu from the night before with his hand on Jade's clothed breast after marrying her. A male wedding chapel official says she's clean and very tight and comments on her "t*ts."
Jade, who shows cleavage, passionately kisses Stu and then later exposes her bare breast so that she can breast-feed her child. We then hear that she's a stripper and aspiring escort.
We see Tracy and another young woman sunbathing lying front down in bikinis.
When a girl fires a tazer into Stu as part of a jail tour demonstration, a male cop enthusiastically comments on her getting him "right in the nuts."
Upon getting their convertible back, Alan says he found a snake skin, but we see that it's a used condom as he throws it onto Stu's shoulder. It's then tossed about in disgust, with one of the gays complaining he just got "jizz" on him.
Hearing something in their trunk, the guys open it to reveal a fully nude man who jumps out and jumps on Stu while hitting him with a crowbar. He then hits Phil and Alan with the same before running off. During all of that we see his full frontal and rear nudity.
Stu complains that he married a "whore."
About their friend being missing, Stu says Doug is probably lying face down in a ditch somewhere with a meth-head "butt-f*cking his corpse."
We see a flashback to Alan's bare butt from earlier in the film.
We see surveillance footage showing the guys being intoxicated the night before, including Phil mock humping a tiger in the rear while putting it in a car.
Jade shows cleavage and she passionately kisses Stu.
Chow taunts the men, saying "Right after you suck on these little Chinese nuts," grabbing his clothed crotch and then making an ejaculation gesture.
Classic style statues in a Vegas hotel show bare breasts.
Racing back to Los Angeles with no time to stop, the four men change clothes on the road, with various views of them shirtless or in their underwear, etc.
When Melissa gets after him for his Vegas trip, Stu reminds her of when she "f*cked" the waiter on the cruise" and a comment is then made that she "f*cked" the bartender.
As an angry response, Melissa tells Alan to "suck my d*ck."
We see a montage of still photos from the guys' wild night in Vegas. They include (but aren't limited to) shots of Alan with a bare-breasted stripper, Jade working as a stripper (including with her legs spread in tiny shorts), Phil with a bare-breasted stripper (including with her turned upside down and her barely covered crotch in his face). We also see one guy behind another on a bed, mocking gay anal sex (no nudity), an older woman's bare butt, and several views of an older woman performing oral sex on Alan (including several views of his penis sticking out of his pants).

SMOKING: Upon getting their convertible back, Stu says he found a cigar in it (not seen).

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Alan mentions not being able to handle another close loss, saying his grandfather died. But he then says that was in WWII and from skiing, not military action.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Bachelor parties.
Getting so drunk and/or high that you don't remember what you did while in that state.
We hear that Stu and Melissa are living together, but aren't married.
The slogan "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."
The guys gamble (blackjack) to try to earn enough money to pay back Mr. Chow.

VIOLENCE: To do a blood brothers sort of thing, Alan slices his palm with a knife (some blood), but the others don't go along with that. We later see him with a bandage around his hand.
The morning after a wild party, we see that the guys' hotel suite is trashed, with broken stuff and a huge burn mark in a chair.
Alan trips over Phil and falls hard to the floor.
With Alan wearing a newly discovered infant in a pouch hanging on his front, either he or Stu opens the back door of a car that accidentally whacks the child (we hear but don't see the impact -- played for laughs).
Two of Mr. Chow's goons surround the guys in their stolen police car, with one smashing a window with a baseball bat. Another shows his gun, so Phil steps on the gas, running over that man's foot. That causes his to shoot his gun accidentally, with the shot hitting a bystander in the shoulder as the car runs into a parked car. Phil then rapidly backs up, smashing through a glass bus stop, shattering the glass, etc.
Alan kicks a cell phone from a boy's hand after that student took a picture of him with it while on a school tour of the jail.
In exchange for releasing them without pressing charges, some cops use Phil, Stu and Alan as "volunteers" for a tazer demonstration to students touring the jail. Phil is first zapped with direct contact by the stun gun, followed by a young girl getting Stu in the clothed crotch with projectiles from the tazer. A boy then shoots Alan in the face with the same, but when he doesn't go down, a cop zaps him with a handheld device, sending him falling onto a desk (all played for laughs).
Hearing something in their trunk, the guys open it to reveal a fully nude man who jumps out and jumps on Stu while hitting him with a crowbar. He then hits Phil and Alan with the same before running off. Stu then opens the car door, accidentally hitting Alan on the head.
Mike Tyson punches Alan in the face, knocking him out and to the floor.
While the guys transport a drugged tiger in their car, the big cat regains consciousness, claws Phil on the neck, and causes them to swerve and crash into some highway walls while driving.
Chow's SUV approaches and then slams into the side of the guys' car, sending it crashing into something else. His goons then pull the trio from the car, with one goon punching Alan in the gut.
Jade falls over backwards from her casino chair and hits the floor hard, but is okay.
Stu tackles Phil to prevent him from telling Stacy (on the phone) that they've lost Doug.
Doug dives into Phil, knocking him to a roof's surface.
We see a montage of still photos from the guys' wild night in Vegas. They include shots of Stu pulling out his own tooth with pliers, resulting in several views of his bloody mouth. We also see still shots of unrelated punches thrown.

Reviewed June 1, 2009 / Posted June 5, 2009

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