TF Issue 193: Is It Just Me? The Hangover...

[Lizhawkins]

On page 145 of TF issue 193, Matt Glasby asks:

"Is it just me... or is The Hangover actually horribly offensive?"



Here are a few excerpts:

If you’re going to be dark, be witty, and if you can’t be witty, be fun – these are the twin tenets of comedy. But the gags in Todd Phillips’ The Hangover are either poor or appalling, springing from a core of hate/fear at everything the characters (and, we assume, the filmmakers) aren’t: female, foreign, gay.

And it’s difficult to have a good time with people you can’t stand. Teacher Phil (Bradley Cooper) cheats his pupils, bad mouths his wife/life/ son, and leaves a baby at the mercy of a tiger. Prissy dentist Stu (Ed Helms) panders to his horrible girlfriend, oddball Alan (Zach Galifianakis) spikes his friend’s drinks and best-of-a-bad-bunch Doug (Justin Bartha) seems unfazed at ruining his fiancé's big day.

Buddy films usually contain a certain amount of homoeroticism, but it really rankles with these dudes. Within the opening five minutes there are three very explicit ‘We promise we don’t like men’ gags (“Don’t text me, it’s gay,” says Phil). In case you didn’t get the SMS, these are straight men jovially afraid of homosexuality – only it’s not always that jovial (“He’s getting very close to my shaft,” says Alan accusingly, of his tailor). The film seems to concur: the sole gay character is lisping, naked super-queen Mr Chow (Ken Jeong). He’s not exactly the best poster boy for race relations, either.

...

This is either bad writing or plain old misogyny, and the choice of celebrity cameo points firmly to the latter. Before an entire sequence dedicated to date-rape jokes – difficult ground for even the most fleet-footed of comedians – up pops convicted sex offender Mike Tyson, who Stu decides is “kind of a sweetheart”, an even creepier benediction. There’s a reason you don’t see Gary Glitter in the Thailand-set sequel, or O.J. Simpson in the later Zucker Brothers films. It’s not only disrespectful to the people they’ve hurt – it’s just not funny, and it leaves a worse taste in the mouth than a night on the jägerbombs with four utter dicks. Or is it just me?

Check out the full article in Issue 193 - on sale 13 April 2012.

Agree? Disagree? Have your say below - a selection will be printed in the next issue...

[Punchbowl]

Agreed. The Hangover was one of the most over rated piles of shite I've ever had the misfortune to watch half of.

Same goes for Bridesmaids seeing as you asked.
Oh, look a fat bird shat in the sink...


hilarious.

[SaveFerris]

This article is a perfect example of politically correct posturing. Yes the humour in 'The Hangover' is very laddish, but that's who the characters are! Do you think a bunch of drunk guys down the pub worry about being being offensive when they're exchanging jokes? I thought 'The Hangover' was hilarious and refreshing in these over-sensitive times. At least the humour was self-aware and ironic, unlike the 'comedy' you'd find in a Michael Bay movie.

[Jeffbiscuits]

One watch of the Hangover was enough for me. I laughed a couple of times but it was really a bit crap. It's not the kind of film that really merits any kind of debate.

[jaykays hat]

I somewhat agree with SaveFerris, this is a lads movie aimed at lads, although saying that, there were quite a few young ladies in the audience who were laughing their tits off.
I found it really funny myself but them I am a bit of a lad.

[Kiba.]

It's not really news that a comedy aimed at lads and ladettes is not politically correct. I found it amusing for a one time watch, but overrated. The fuss that proceeded it was bigger than the laughs. The same with Bridesmaids.

[Jonesy]

It's a film of skits, strung together to try to make a film. Such skits are better off staying on Saturday Night Live. Quite often, comedians who are funny in small doses, get hugely annoying when watched for nearly two hours.

[morris]

Originally Posted by Jonesy

Quite often, comedians who are funny in small doses, get hugely annoying when watched for nearly two hours.

This is true and not just of American comedians.

[DarrenK86]

I couldn't care less about political correctness in a film - it's entertainment after all. But The Hangover just wasn't funny...at all.
I was severely disappointed when I saw it. What's funny about grown men running around screaming like girls? It needed witty dialogue of which there was none.

Bridesmaids...THAT is how comedy is done. It had slapstick (the dress fitting scene), witty banter/dialogue (any scene with Melissa McCarthy) and heart - even if the romance element was highly predictable.

[jaykays hat]

Originally Posted by DarrenK86

I couldn't care less about political correctness in a film - it's entertainment after all. But The Hangover just wasn't funny...at all.
I was severely disappointed when I saw it. What's funny about grown men running around screaming like girls? It needed witty dialogue of which there was none.

Bridesmaids...THAT is how comedy is done. It had slapstick (the dress fitting scene), witty banter/dialogue (any scene with Melissa McCarthy) and heart - even if the romance element was highly predictable.

I don't care for political correctness in films or in life.

I thought Bridesmaids was ok but my wife had seen it at the cinema and was raving about it and when I saw it on dvd I expected more. Nowhere near as funny as The Hangover or Hangover 2.

Two other films that I thought were hilarious was Horrible Bosses and Hall Pass.