How much mess can you get into in one night of loitering and partying, however drunk you may be is the question here. Well quite a lot actually if this movie’s director Todd Philips version is to be believed.
Haven’t we all faced such situations? During our college days, as bachelors or during the times when we decided to have a boy’s night out leaving our better halves to the comparative safety of our homes. What have we usually done then?
Went out to the nearby liquor store to buy beer / whiskey etc ( I suppose young bachelors wont go too much beyond that) , had a good fun talk session, or played cards and then gone to a nearby restaurant that was still open to quench the hunger pangs. In the worst case someone among the group would have suggested routing through the nearest girls’ hostel and even if someone still a little sane did not dissuade them, then it would probably have resulted in a little brawl with the guard at the gate, that’s it.
Or in the little possibility of the gang not finding food they could have possibly landed up at some roadside dhaba to wake up the host to help them garner something edible.
But here Todd Philips has really let his imagination run wild on one such night of partying and a really hilarious comic film has resulted. Not so much has been said or heard about this film as should have and it quietly passed from the theatres in India, but some people enjoyed it and the critics did give it a four star rating.
Anyway let’s see what the situation has to offer here. A nice guy Doug is about to be married to a Gal called Tracy and before getting into the vows that bind him unto eternity his friends decide they should have one last bash in Las Vegas. He decides to also take along his soon to be, albeit a little weird, brother in law, lest he feels left out. The father of the bride obviously in a benevolent mood at such a time allows them to take his brand new Mercedes for the trip. Thus starts the saga of fun, confusion, panic et al.
Let me first introduce you to the characters involved.
Doug – The bride groom to be. Played by Justin Bartha, is a very reliable and mature kind of guy that anyone can trust. He is also kind and soft hearted and is thus unable to resist extending the invitation to join the party to his somewhat weird to be brother in law.
Phil – Played by Bradley Cooper, is the handsome Casanova types.
Stu – Played by Ed Helms, is a meek type who is planning on proposing to his girl friend soon, even though all his friends are trying to dissuade him, she being the very controlling types who has also apparently slept with a bartender while in the relationship with Stu.
Alan – The fat, somewhat crazy, dimwitted, brother of Tracy who joins in on the friends.
Now here goes the plot. So these four friends, rather three friends and a party crasher, decide to go to Vegas for the bachelor’s night out. They check into the Cesar’s Palace hotel and then go to the roof top to have a little private celebration drink before beginning the night’s festivities.
What happens then is anybody’s guess; because after that they all wake up in their room in the morning and all hell has broken loose. Doug is missing and none of them have any recollection of what happened the previous night. All they can remember is that they had gone to the roof top to have a drink to start the night’s celebrations. Now with just one day in-between and the wedding scheduled for tomorrow what are they going to do?
Well they start out the standard Sherlock Holmes way! By following the clues. And there are plenty of them too. Firstly the room is in a royal mess, Stu has a tooth missing, there’s a Baby on board, and hold your breath, there’s also a tiger in the bathroom. So at least there’s plenty to start searching on.
From here begins their painful and fulfilled search for their friend. Enroute they meet several new and interesting characters, including a mafia don, a stripper, and none other than Mike Tyson himself. The situations are hilariously portrayed and interwoven in a very believable manner, however bizarre they may have been.
So what’s the secret to the whole thing? How did they loose their memories, where is Doug, is he still alive and safe. How did one of them get the hospital tag on his hand? Was he admitted there? Whose baby is that? How to get rid of a real tiger in a hotel room.
The movie friends, is as hilarious as it is suspense filled. All the characters have done a very good job without being too loud. If you ignore the cuss words its all in all a very watch able film. Best seen with friends, especially male bachelor friends!