Hangover a Good Number of Contemporary Movies

¶ … Hangover

A good number of contemporary movies are written as comic, tongue-in-cheek commentary on the nature of our society. The Hangover, released in 2009, is set exactly on this premise, and, in the process of attempting to deliver an entertaining story about binge drinking and bachelor parties. While it isn't a film that was written to offer in-depth social analysis is does offer some fairly rudimentary commentary on physical, social, and emotional wellness in connection with relationships, friendships, and drinking.

From its opening scene, one of the most notable aspects of The Hangover is that the premise of the story is based on a group of four male friends, their interactions, their relationships with women, and their experience at a bachelor party in Las Vegas. The attempts at humor in the film are concentrated on stereotyped characters, and worst-case outcomes that, in reality, wouldn't be entertaining or laughable.

The physically risky situations and behaviors in this movie include binge drinking, drug use, casual sex, and aggressive behavior. The characters in the film plan a heavy night of drinking, after which none of them can remember the events of the prior night. As they try to piece together what occurred they realize that one character, Alan, added a drug to their drinking. Alan believed the substance was ecstasy, but it was actually rohypnol, a muscle relaxant and anticonvulsant that causes memory loss when mixed with alcohol. Alan had purchased the pills from a person he didn't know, and the seller had misidentified the drug as ecstasy.

What's interesting about the premise is that rohypnol is commonly known as the "date rape drug." It is odorless and tasteless, so it can be added to a drink without an individual's knowledge. There are many well-documented cases of men using this drug to victimize women in social settings because the user will lose her inhibitions and not remember the events after the fact. In The Hangover, the principal characters wake up the day after their big party and can't remember what occurred. The remainder of the film follows the men as they reconstruct the events, which include a variety of unrealistic capers, such as stealing a tiger, destroying a luxury hotel room, marrying a stripper, and caring for an unidentified baby.

A good deal of commentary on gender roles and the relationships between men and women are also woven into this film. One character, Stu, is in a relationship with an extremely controlling woman, so he creates an elaborate lie about his trip, telling her he is traveling to Napa Valley instead of Las Vegas. Throughout the film his friends remind him that his girlfriend was unfaithful to him when she went on a vacation, and they repeatedly tell him that she is neither kind nor a good partner for him. Overall there is an undertone of double standards played out, in that the girlfriend was unfaithful but she is extremely upset at the idea that Stu could be unfaithful to her. The other friends in the group have sexual interactions with various women, despite the fact that one is about to be married and the other has a wife and child. Overall, the movie presents some very common stereotypes about infidelity, substance use, and peer pressure, as all of the friends behave in ways they would not if they were not in a group.

As the film ends, the group makes it to the wedding late, but the bride accepts an apology from her finance and the marriage takes place. Stu's girlfriend is angry and demands an explanation for his lies, and he tells her that their relationship is not healthy and he is not happy. The social statement, here, is obvious: individuals should not be in relationships if they cannot accept each other's choices and be faithful, but both men and women may fail to assert themselves if they don't have the confidence to end a relationship. In the case, Stu's trip to Las Vegas gave him the confidence he needed to tell his girlfriend the truth.