What Happens In Vegas...."The Hangover" Is A Hit

Yep....apparently some hangovers aren't that bad after all.

And I saw this one comin' from a mile away.

While doing some serious, important research a while back (aka: surfing for movie gossip on the web), I read that Warner Brothers studio bosses had already given the green-light for a Hangover sequel to writer/director Todd Phillips.

Two months before the flick would even hit the theaters.

That kind of movie news makes me sit up & take notice, or at least stop clicking around for a moment.


Seriously, these dudes do NOT make major money decisions lightly.

(OK, Paris Hilton in The Hottie And The Nottie, doesn't count.)


While not common in the movie business, it is very uncharacteristic for a bunch of Hollywood "Suits" to make a decision like that on a property that isn't a well-known, proven commodity (e.g. Harry Potter,Twilight...or...uh, Weekend at Bernie's).

I'm just sayin'.

But the bosses had apparently been bowled over by the overwhelmingly positive responses they were receiving at early test screenings.

Hence, the early green-light for the sequel.

Good news for the studio AND the three lead bachelor party boys as well. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis were all invited to the next party, and they are now sequel-bound as well.


So, this is how I knew in early April that an outrageous and raunchy comedy hit was most likely on the horizon.


Now....preliminary box office numbers from The Hangover opening this weekend are proving those "suits" actually knew what they were doin'.

Go figure.

Check out the Saturday scoop from one of my fave box office-tracking websites, boxofficeguru.com --

"Riding a wave of strong reviews and electric early buzz, the post-bachelor party comedy The Hangover pushed aside the competition and opened triumphantly at number one on Friday with a stunning $16.5M in ticket sales, according to estimates, in its first day of release.
The Warner Bros. hit grossed nearly as much on its opening day as other recent R-rated comedies like I Love You, Man and Role Models collected during their entire first weekends. Hangover even powered ahead of the $10.5M first day take of the raunchy 2005 summer smash Wedding Crashers, despite lacking the same kind of star names.
A Friday-to-Sunday debut of about $45-50M seems likely for the groom-gone-missing comedy, putting it in a tight race for the top spot this weekend."

Hey, I'm a Movie Chick.
(I'm actually the "Mix Flix Chick", but that's beside the point.)

Because I had advance knowledge that The Hangover was a hit waiting to happen, I am not at all surprised by this....and that's why I jumped at the chance a few weeks ago to check out The Hangover at an advance screening.

Guess what?

I liked it.




It's outrageous and raunchy, but it benefits from some seriously great casting. Ed Helms (Andy from The Office) is very funny as the nerdy, much put-upon dentist who loses a tooth, yet discovers himself in Vegas.


And bushy-bearded comedian Zach Galifianakis steals the flick as the bride's dangerously whacked-out brother. If you haven't heard of Zach yet, you will very soon.


The Hangover had some genuinely funny, laugh out loud moments....and some "oh no, they didn't" moments. While it's not the best comedy I've ever seen, it's certainly not the worst (that list is waaaay too long to post here).

OK, so The Hangover is shaping up to be a big comedy hit, but take notice folks....it is most definitely NOT for everyone.

Please do not go if you are at all offended by sex, drugs, bad language or full frontal nudity.

Everyone else, raise your hand.

Yep, y'all can go see it without worries.


If you're interested in my quick review & thoughts on The Hangover, along with some other miscellaneous flick chat -- click on the video below to listen to my introduction on Thursday, June 4th as the new "Mix Flix Chick" for morning DJ Mark Dantzer on 107.9 FM in Columbus, Ohio.



Or, you can just read this:

What happens in Vegas....is funny and gonna make a lot of money.

Gee, Wayne Newton figured that out years ago.


I'm just sayin'.

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**UPDATE : Sunday afternoon(12:30pm)box office figures courtesy of Variety.com:

"Warner Bros.' R-rated comedy The Hangover grossed a boffo $43.3 million in its debut, although Disney-Pixar holdover Up remained No. 1 at the domestic box office at $44.2 million."

(Hmmm.....looks like the bachelor party boys couldn't quite beat the old man with the balloons. Oh well, close guys....very close. We'll see ya in the sequel.)