It was pure lightning, but Todd Phillips was so confident in the film’s success he reduced his usual fee and took a percentage of the film. A screenplay from the Hollywood Blacklist, heavily reworked by Phillips and the cast to play to their strengths. A cast of supporting actors and unknowns – Ed Helms, Heather Graham and Mike Tyson were the biggest names at the time – has now become one of those Hollywood stories of the dozens of actors who were considered. Modestly budgeted, with only three weeks of location filming in Las Vegas and other parts of Nevada.
The end result was one of those comedies that generated a lot of buzz quickly for having a high rate of success. Roger Ebert’s review said it best. “The Hangover” is a funny movie, flat out, all the way through. Its setup is funny. Every situation is funny. Most of the dialogue is funny almost line by line. At some point we actually find ourselves caring a little about what happened to the missing bridegroom — and the fact that we almost care is funny, too.” It’s so hard to make a film, let alone a good one. This is proven by the sequels failing to be even a fraction as funny while reworking the same idea with the same cast.
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