Thoughts on the movie The Hangover

Okay, I don't blog often about movies. I don't recall ever having really done an in depth post about them, but JD and I watched the film The Hangover today and well, having been to Vegas three times now, I have a few thoughts I guess. I guess there may be spoilers if you haven't seen the film, but I don't think I'm revealing too too much of the plot here.

Firstly the film is incredibly 'Hollywood'. Stereotypical. Very unrealistic. That's a given. That's part of my expectations going into viewing the film. It's also really a guy-focused movie (even with the wedding framing it all), which I also clearly expected. And it's set in one of the least down-to-earth places in the world: Vegas.

So I expected Sin City would figure highly in the film. But yegads, how unrealistic can you get? Mike Tyson's tiger? Carrot Top? Winning money like it's super easy? Okay sure, so when I was in Vegas many people I knew met Jay Leno, so meeting celebrities isn't impossible. And winning isn't that improbable: sure the house always wins, but some people do make out like bandits. Sure the card counting strategy is unlikely to get you ahead in life, but whatever, stranger things have happened…

But really? How unrealistic can you get? The portrayal of police officers in this film was absolutely ridiculous for example. And sure, once you realize that the movie is unrealistic (I expected that much) it's the portrayal of Vegas that I have issues with, really: it's almost as if the film is a walking talking advert for the strip. And well, that's something I do have a problem with: Vegas isn't all sunshine and happiness. People smoke in Casinos (yes it's improving even in the short time I've visited during). Hotels are expensive. Entertainment is expensive. There are people on the streets who are suffering etc. (I could go on, but what's the point?)

There's a lot I can say, I suppose, but really, what I'd like to say is the movie is funny if unrealistic… and well quite crude at times.