Gareth's Top Ten Comedies of the 21st Century (So Far)
#5 The Hangover (2009)
This years perhaps somewhat surprising box office smash, The Hangover seemed to come out of nowhere. With no real star power to speak of, Todd Phillips film received little to no hype but thanks to a very funny script and some great performances The Hangover became a runaway success. Following the Very Bad Things template of a Vegas stag do gone wrong, The Hangover took a more novel approach to the clichéd debauched night and skipped over it all to the morning after hence the title. We never do see their antics; apart from a very funny end credits slideshow and, bizarrely, security footage from Mike Tysons house. The Hangovers main strength was the rapport between its three leads: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and the genius that is Zach Galifianakis. Pretty much untested in lead roles, the three of them should now have a, deservedly, bright future the films success has seen talk of a sequel begin already. Not just a raunchy guy comedy, The Hangover is also smart, dark in places and has the right amount of warmth, but most importantly it has big, hearty laughs from start to finish. If it wasnt for a rather sweary Scottish man it could have been comedy of the year.