The women in the film include a highly flustered bride, an oppressive shrew and a pole dancer. No female role models here. As for the men, it’s one social misfit, one emotionally docile boyfriend, a too-cool school teacher and a groom who’s little more than a plot device.

There’s not much more to say about the storyline of The Hangover, which will be beloved by older teens and college-age guys, as well as young adults. Even your friendly, close-to-middle-age film critic, found a few things to laugh at during the film. But the increasingly bizarre happenings—an angry, naked Asian; stun-gun demonstrations carried out in front of young students—begin to feel all too predictable, and the physical pain inflicted upon the main characters as a means of generating chuckles becomes more uncomfortable than amusing.

Younger viewers who haven’t seen the great comedies of earlier decades may herald The Hangover as a classic of the genre. Those who know better may enjoy The Hangover to a point, but they’ll wake up the next morning wondering what it was they saw in the film.

A suggested remedy:  Watch two Charlie Chaplin comedies and call me in the morning.

Questions? Comments? Contact the writer at crosswalkchristian@verizon.net.

CAUTIONS:

• Smoking/Drinking/Drugs:  A joke about a “designated drunk driver”; smoke rises from ashtrays in the men’s hotel room after their wild night; the men are so hungover they can’t remember what happened the night before; a man drives drunk; the men discover their drinks were laced with the “date rape” drug; a man says he used to do three hits of ecstasy a day.
• Language/Profanity:  Lord’s name taken in vain; coarse language throughout, including reference to sex acts; a woman extends her middle finger; use of “gay” in a jokey manner; reference to strippers and cocaine; a wedding singer sings sexually suggestive songs.
• Sex/Nudity:  A man’s rear end is shown; reference to activities at strip clubs; a man comes to terms with an earlier act of infidelity by the woman he loves; masturbation; a woman is said to be “grossed out by seaman”; a man walks around in his underwear; a man appears to be giving oral sex to a woman; scene of urination; anatomical jokes; female breasts exposed; a woman identifies herself a stripper, or more technically, an escort; jokes about sex with a corpse and with a tiger; a photo of a man receiving oral sex, and other photos of debauchery.
• Violence/Crime:  A man says he is not permitted to be near schools or Chuck E. Cheese restaurants, where young people gather; a man cuts his palm; the men, mistaken for police officers, take advantage of that mistake; a baby is left in a car, with the window cracked; reckless driving; a naked man attacks the friends; men take a baseball bat to a car windshield; a shopkeeper is shot; young students carry out a stun-gun demonstration on the friends; Mike Tyson punches one of the friends.
• Gambling:  Scenes of people in casinos.
• Marriage:  A man believes he has married a pole dancer.