July 20th, 2009
By Eddy
Let me say first that It took me a while to watch this movie. Along with all usual hoopla that is my life one thing above all kept making me procrastinate from watching The Hangover .
That one thing was the following: Everybody that I talked to who saw the movie said it was better or just as good as Old School .
And this wasn’t just one time, this was multiple unrelated sources. I experienced the ultimate “What you talkin’ bout Willis?” moment.
So while most normal people would go immediately to the theater, plop down their $230.43 for a ticket and the promise of their first born for a box of raisnets and a slushy (Actually, it would be second born for me, as Thomas was promised for the tub of popcorn for the Matrix: Revolutions , which was a total waste of a baby and a movie) I decided to wait and let things settle down.
I will cut through the obvious suspense and say to you my dear reader that NO! it is not as good as Old School… in my humble opinion of course.
The best way to quantify it, and the way I have been explaining it to my friends, is that if Old School was a 10 (not to say that it was an actual 10 of a movie, but we need to start somewhere) then The Hangover would be a solid 8.5 to 9. So in summation, Hell yeah, it was a funny movie, but it just doesn’t hit every single base to put it on the same level of Old School .
I don’t want to go into the particulars, because this movie needs to be watch…like I said…it is a funny movie. Everybody does a great job, and once the action starts moving along, things never let up. You even see Heather Graham’s boob which is certainly an added bonus when considering that it could have been Lindsay Lohan’s.
Now let me explain a little about why the movie does not live up to Old School . First of all, it doesn’t have the mass appeal that Old School had. While it probably sold movie tickets, I am not sure if it was the type of movie that Divina would watch again, which cannot be said for Old School . She loves that movie after all her Disney favorites.
I feel that The Hangover was very directed to guys. It is basically an all male cast with only one females playing bit parts. Now this can be said of Old School , but it is the actions taken by the group of men from each movie that makes a meaningful difference to the general audience. The Bacchus-like debauchery in The Hangover translates very well with one viewing, but I am not sure if most girlfriends or wives would go back (I ignore most guys, because I am pretty certain, especially with the current box office of the movie, that they would re watch the movie, me included)
The Hangover doesn’t have the same quote-ability and stay power as Old School . Old School had such pop culture longevity after it came out, especially in my age group that it’s likely all my friends can quote one line from Old School . This could the fact that I was in a fraternity at the time, and the movie hit me and everyone I know at the perfect time…college. Not to say that The Hangover doesn’t do the same thing for my age group today.
As my generation starts to get married, have families and move into a different stage in life, The Hangover with its group of guys trying to escape their lives for one day for a bachelor party and be who they really are or were definitely hits a nerve, but that same message can be seen in Vince Vaughn and Will Farrell in Old School which adds a different dimension that I didn’t have access to when I first saw the film. Time will only be able to tell if I am correct about The Hangover, but I would not be surprised if it relegated to the same group as Superbad, 40 Year Old Virgin, Anchorman and the like (obviously not a bad group to be in).
Finally, the biggest difference between the films was Will Farrell. In Old School , he was fresh from SNL and about to explode onto the scene. This was well before the over saturated Farrell we see now, who due to his big salary and expectations must play the same over the top, bewildered character in his films. Not so in Old School , he was free to take the character in any direction he wanted even add libbing lines that just fit in like the famous “Bed, bath and beyond” line.
In the place of Will Farrell as “comedian/actor role” in The Hangover is Zack Galakanfis, who has been in the next big comedian wagon for a while. The only thing holding him back is his quirky and subdued/sarcastic style of comedy which isn’t as generic as that of Farrell’s. This works against Zack in the fact that sometime he comes off more as creepy than funny (which I know is his intention and hilarious, but may not be the rest of America’s cup of tea). Yet with that said I do think this may be a break out role for him because as creepy/stalker/molester that he plays in beginning of film becomes quite endearing and hilarious.
All in all, the film is a definite recommend, but don’t go in expecting to find the second coming of Old School . Enjoy it for what it is, and let time decide the rest.
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