YMMV / The Hangover

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Is Alan a Millstone, a Psychopathic Man Child, or is he a Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold? Or is he all three?
  • When Phil called Stu "Dr. Faggot", was he being homophobic or was he simply messing with Stu? On one hand, his sense of humor is vulgar and that could just be him being his jokingly vulgar self. On the other hand, he acts incredibly sexist with most women that he meets, so he would likely not be above homophobia...
• And You Thought It Would Fail: Lindsay Lohan turned down the role of Jade because, apparently, she thought it would flop. Yeah, that was a bad idea.
• Angst? What Angst?: With Teddy being a prominent musician and studying to be a surgeon, you'd think he'd be at least a little upset about cutting off his finger and having it get lost.
• Awesome Music:
  • The soundtrack has an impressive hip-hop collection for a movie that does not specifically revolve around hip-hop.
  • Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" from Part I making a solid Call-Back in the credits of Part III.
  • 'What do Tigers dream of when they take a little Tiger snooze?' It's beautiful.
  • Also Stu's "Alantown" from Part II.
  • The Dan Band's version of 50 Cent's "Candy Shop".
  • The use of Nine Inch Nails' version of "Hurt" (the original one) for the scene where Alan bids Chow a final (well, unless you count The Stinger) farewell and leaves with the Wolfpack.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Leslie Chow is either the most hilarious character or the most annoying character in the trilogy, depending on who you ask. When it comes to the sequels, you can also add people who think he's funny, but not funny enough to warrant the increased screen time in each sequel.
  • Alan is either the funniest character in the series, only funny in small doses, or the most annoying character in the films. The fact that he Took a Level in Jerkass in the sequels doesn't help either.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Stu's "What Do Tigers Dream Of?" musical number.
• Catharsis Factor: At the end of the first movie, Stu finally tells off Melissa for her abusive behavior and leaves her.
• Critical Dissonance: Part II was largely panned by critics, but it was successful at the box office, outgrossing the original internationally ($191M vs $331M), even with the increased budget from $35M to $80M. Part III however, had an even more negative reception than II, and did far worse at the box office ($112M domestic, $249M international on a $103M budget). Still, it did manage to have the second-highest opening weekend for an R-rated comedy film.
• Critic-Proof: As said in Critical Dissonance, poor reviews didn't damper the box office for the two sequels (though for Part II, this may be due to the good will from the first film). Part III however, is both the lowest rated and the lowest grossing film in the series by a sizeable margin (see Critical Dissonance).
• Crosses the Line Twice: A cop (played by six-and-a-half foot tall Marine Rob Riggle) kicking in the door, pointing a gun, and screaming "SHUT THAT BABY UP!" - This would only allude to later on, in which he is outright leading kids to hit the three with tasers. The hysterical laughter and goading as it all happens leaves you wondering just how these guys "serve and protect".
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Leslie Chow, hence each sequel giving more screen time and relevance to the film than the previous.
  • The Dan Band has certainly gotten a good many fans from this film. Doubles as a One-Scene Wonder.
• Esoteric Happy Ending: The second film ends with Stu marrying Lauren and the guys (and Mike Tyson) reacting to the photos of the night before. Never mind the fact that Stu was raped by a sex worker, and not only is he not going to tell Lauren about it, but he might well have an STD. Teddy's career plans are also in trouble because he cut off his finger, and it's now impossible to reattach it.
• Fan-Preferred Couple: Most fans liked the pairing between Stu and Phil, and were disappointed to see that the sequel has Stu engaged and eventually marries Lauren.
• First Installment Wins: Most fans agree that the first film was definitely the best.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The character of Leslie Chow is so popular in Japan and China that he has been given more and more screen time with each movie in the franchise. Considering that some American critics have considered Chow to be a racial stereotype of Asians, this may also count as Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Not that it was all that hilarious before, but seeing a giraffe get killed becomes even more horrific after the controversy about the euthanised giraffe Marius from the Copenhagen Zoo.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: In Part II, Mike Tyson tells Stu that he should have his tattoo removed. Considering the Frivolous Lawsuit over that same tattoo that nearly caused the film's delay, this also doubles as a retroactive Harsher in Hindsight.
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: The main complaint from critics against Part II was that it was just a long repetition of the events of the first film, only set in Bangkok, Thailand.
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: Despite the first movie featuring a rude gangster who is guilty of kidnapping, vehicular assault, and extortion, the most hated character in the movie is Melissa for being an extremely harsh and accurate portrayal of Domestic Abuse.
• Love to Hate:
  • Leslie Chow is memorable for being an over-the-top Laughably Evil gangster.
  • Melissa is despised for being an extremely nasty portrayal of an abusive girlfriend.
• Memetic Mutation: "But did you die?" from Part II is often used as a response to something that is considered an overreaction.
• Older Than They Think
  • The plot of the first film shares plenty of similarities with Dude, Where's My Car?, the 1999 The Simpsons episode "Viva Ned Flanders", and Very Bad Things. In fact, the similarities to the latter led to the French title of the film being Very Bad Trip.
  • That fake-out hi-five/handshake thing that Zach Galifianakis does in the third film originated in an episode of Comedy Bang! Bang! (to which Scott Aukerman replied, "That's...still a thing?").
• One-Scene Wonder:
  • Lisa, the receptionist at the Caesar's Palace. Helps that she's also hot.
  • Mike Tyson. And again in Part II
  • The tattoo artist in Part II was meant to be one, and be played by Mel Gibson, but this fell through after cast and crew objected to his involvement, leading to him being replaced with Liam Neeson. Then the scene needed to be reshot and Neeson wasn't available, so in the final film he's played by the utterly unrecognizable director Nick Cassavettes.
• Sequelitis: The first one was well-received. The sequels, not so much (the second for retreading the original while adding on Vulgar Humor, and the third for extreme Flanderization while drifting too far from the original to the point that comedy is almost an afterthought).
• Signature Scene: Mr. Chow jumping out of the trunk, naked, and beating everyone; or the Tiger Lullaby.
• So Okay, It's Average: While Part II is usually criticized for having many of the same elements from the first film with more vulgar scenes, its still not seen as worse than Part III with a score of 33% on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.4 on IMDB compared to third films' score of 20% and 5.8 on IMDB.
• Spiritual Adaptation:
  • The humor and slapstick gags are very reminiscent of The Three Stooges. In fact, some felt the film and its sequels are better modern adaptations then the actual 2012 film (albeit more grittier, grounded and semi-realistic then actual series of the Stooges' films).
  • The overall film trilogy feels like an R-rated live-action adaptation of the kids' cartoon Ed, Edd n Eddy (which like the films is also distributed by Warner Bros.), due to some characters sharing traits with the cartoon's characters. (Interestingly, The Three Stooges is said to be one of the inspirations for Ed, Edd n Eddy, so it comes full circle):
    • Phil shares some traits with Eddy, due to them being the egotistical and womanizing Jerkass leads of the trio and further hits home with his actor Bradley Cooper's voice coincidentally sounding like Eddy's voice actor Tony Sampson's voice when voicing the character.
    • Stu acts as the film series' Double D due to them trying to act as the three's Only Sane Man and The Smart Guy even though both are the neurotic of the three and are Not So Above It All.
    • Alan is Ed's counterpart, due to them being The Ditz of the group who can be an Unwitting Instigator of Doom who creates the problem that drives the plot.
    • Leslie Chow, Eddie Palermos from the first film and Samir from the second film (the latter two played by the same actor) all shares traits with Rolf, due to them being the Funny Foreigner towards the trio and are more tolerable and civil towards them in contrast to the other characters until their patience wears thin by the three's antics (though Eddie and Samir can count as exceptions). Also, the way Chow addressed the Wolfpack as "gay boys" in a couple of scenes throughout the trilogy is not unlike how Rolf addressed the Eds as "Ed boys" in the show.
    • Tracy and Melissa (from the first film) are each a Decomposite Character of Sarah due to the former being stressed out by the three's antics and being the sister of the trio's The Ditz, while the latter is an ill-tempered Jerkass and her being the girlfriend of Stu alludes to Sarah having a crush on Double D in the cartoon, though Sarah was slightly nicer towards Double D, while still controlling in contrast to Melissa's full-blown poor treatment.
    • Doug shares traits with Jimmy, due to them being each a Nice Guy who most of the time ended up as a Butt-Monkey because of the three's mishaps. Doug's marriage to the Tsundere sister of the group's The Ditz parallels to Jimmy's close relationship to Ed's sister Sarah.
    • Jade is the films' version of the cartoon's Nazz, due to them being beautiful Nice Girls with Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold.
    • Rob Riggle's character Officer Franklin from the first film shares traits with Kevin, due to them being Jerkasses who invoke Disproportionate Retribution against the three for harming or stealing their vehicles (Franklin arrests the Wolfpack then have them being taser test dummies for robbing his police cruiser, while Kevin is protective of his prized bike and would harm anyone who damages or steal it). In addition, Franklin's occupation as a police officer, who is usually seen as a figure who should be respected, is similar to Kevin's position as The Ace in the neighborhood, while both can still act as a Jerkass towards the three idiots.
    • Melissa McCarthy's character Cassie who is smitten with Alan in the third film can be seen as an Adaptational Heroism Composite Character of the Kanker Sisters, due to them being low class females in terms of appearances and manners who are smitten with all or one of the three idiots, like May Kanker's infatuation with Ed (Alan Garner's cartoon counterpart). However, while the Kankers are outright obnoxious, Cassie, however while still a jerk, is less worse.
    • Black Doug shares traits with Jonny 2x4, both are African American Nice Guys who can be friendly towards the three morons and acts as the Butt Monkeys as well. Black Doug being The Dragon for Marshall in the Grand Finale is similar to Jonny's Face–Heel Turn into becoming the costumed villain The Gourd in The Stinger to the cartoon's own Grand Finale.
    • Marshall himself is the trilogy's counterpart of Eddy's Brother, due to both of them being the Greater-Scope Villain of both series as the trios' problems are traced back to them. Even though both can be Laughably Evil (especially when you have John Goodman playing the villain, who is mostly The Comically Serious), they are treated as each a Knight of Cerebus as their appearances are mostly played out seriously.
    • The film itself also bears striking similarities to the “Ed Edd n Eddy, Big Picture Show.” In that film, the opening shows the cul-de-sac in ruins, the Ed’s are to blame for the events, and unlike The Hangover, we never find out what exactly happened to get the trio in such a mess.
• Squick:
  • While the credits is one big Funny Moment as a whole, there are a couple of pictures that'll make viewers want to vomit.
  • Another would be Stu getting breast enlargements at The Stinger for Part III.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: The main complaint from critics against Part III was that it diverged so far from the previous films that it didn't even seem to be a comedy anymore.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • It's not uncommon to find people who complain that, after being a living MacGuffin in the first film, Doug is wasted as a character in the sequels by leaving him out of the drunken night in Part II & restoring him to his original role in Part III. Especially since his actor, Justin Bartha, has shown he can easily play a quirky companion in the National Treasure films.
  • A lot of people are also unhappy about Heather Graham's character Jade being left out of Part II, since she and Stu seemed to actually go together well in their final scene, and because she's perhaps the only sympathetic and rounded female character, though she does turn up again in part III.
• Unintentional Period Piece: One of Alan's Manchild traits in the films is that he's a fan of The Jonas Brothers, who during the time the films were made were a Disney Teen Idol pop group marketed exclusively towards children and young teens. By The New '20s, the group had successfully transitioned to a mainstream adult band, so a grown man like Alan being a fan of them isn't that strange.
• The Woobie:
  • Alan is this at some points. Especially when he starts singing "We're the three best friends that anyone could have!" and even more so when he's genuinely distressed at the idea that Doug might be dead, while the other two don't seem to have considered the possibility.^note With the exception of Stu when he said "Our best friend Doug is probably lying facedown in a ditch right now with a methhead buttfucking his corpse!" However, Alan's Woobie status drops dramatically when you consider that nearly every bad thing that happens to the Wolfpack is his fault. Mainly because he drugs them in the first two films. Then comes the third, where his sympathy drops further as he's becoming too weird to function.
  • Stu is another Woobie. In the first film, his girlfriend controls his life with an iron fist and he not only lacks the guts to stand up for himself (until the end), but actually makes excuses for her abusing and cheating on him. In the second film, his disapproving father-in-law emasculates him in a similar fashion. And to top it all off, Alan's stupidity results in Stu being put through hell in both films and nearly having his marriage destroyed in the second.

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