So, Gav and I didn’t see “Bruno” as planned (a school-boy error on my part). But we did see this….
The influences are obvious from an early stage, a group of slightly mismatched (yet ‘life-long close’ friends) head to Vegas for a stag weekend (sorry, batchelor party) and much high-jinks, of the very male variety, occur. Despite the big nods (think ‘Sideways’, ‘American Pie’, ‘Very Bad Things’ and anything involving Judd Apatow) this manages to be familiar, yet new, all at the same time.
This is a film about men being men and needless to say the stag party goes somewhere very left of “well” resulting in the three remaining stooges to find out, a) what happened last night, b) who’s baby they’ve ended up with, and c) where, exactly, IS the groom?. It’s the first of these points that sets the film apart from others of it’s ilk, where men are men (they usually fuck it up) and inevitably find themselves enduring the mother of all chaos. In ‘The Hangover’ none of the chaos that ensues on the night is actually seen. Instead the chaos (after a brief introduction of all the main players and their arrival at America’s Blackpool) TRUELLY begins with the survivors waking up in a hotel room so trashed you are as clueless as them about what exactly has gone on.
From here the plot unfolds. Memories wiped by a date rape drug, a baby in tow and a stolen police car for transport, the film revolves around the trio’s attempts to follow what little evidence they have in order to work out where the hell the groom is and will they get him to the church on time?. With no recollection of what they did the previous night, Bradley Cooper (as the cool Alpha of the team), Ed Helms (the neurotic, uptight one) and Zach Galifianakis (a superb turn as the ‘weird one’) set about trying to piece together the night in question in the hope it will lead the back to the ‘very’ missing groom.
There’s no point in trying to relay the hilarity that follows but thanks to such a bielevable inter-action between the leads, you want to laugh and cringe for them as if they were your actual friends, this is a worthwhile ride indeed. That Mike Tyson (as himself) gets invloved - and acts really quite well - is worth seeing alone, if only for a great cinema moment I wont reveal here.
For me the enjoyment comes from the fact that you have no clue what has got the trio into such a bad situtation, in fact - like Reservoir Dogs (!!!) - the event that has caused the problem is never actually seen (there are glimpes during the final credits, so dont press ’stop’ to soon) in effect you spend the whole film travelling with them.
I’d suggest its ‘one for the boys’, the women are largely in the background (hookers, brides to be, phsyco girlgriends, etc) which does give a slightly misogynist feel to it all. Yet, if we can laugh at ‘the blokes’ being in the worst predicament of all, we’re sure as shit glad it isn’t us!. Zach Galifianakis will be the break out star (deserved) but for me Bradley Cooper should be the one to watch.
seven out of ten.
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