Hi, everyone! It’s Story Sunday again! I have to admit that this month has been a bit strange, so my choices for Story Sunday are a little unusual. In addition to a couple of big deadlines, I had an old friend come into town for a week and this weekend I threw a bachelor party. Next weekend I’ll be out of town to attend a wedding where I’ll be the best man. So I’m writing the posts at strange times, surrounded by strange events, trying to keep up with deadlines, and watching March fly by in front of me. In honor of the bachelor party weekend, I’m talking about The Hangover.

Surprisingly, this movie is still pretty relevant since The Hangover III is in the works and (unless I’m mistaken) will be coming out later this year. The Hangover is full of absurdity that slowly unfolds in front of the audience. When this movie first came out, I watched it in a sold out theater. This movie was a huge success and I think there are a few reasons worth mentioning here.

When a movie has an original concept or idea, or a different twist on an idea, it always has the potential to be a huge success. The Hangover is the perfect example of a twist on the classic party movies. This is after the party, after the big night, and these guys need to figure out what they did and where they went. At the time, the market had been saturated with party movies. You know the type, big movies where characters do all kinds of hilarious things because of drinking or drugs. This movie is different. We have a missing person, a wedding to attend, and three characters that are worn out, confused, and trying to use clues from their hotel room and pockets to figure out what they did. We get to experience the humor of the morning after, the humor of watching a couple of wrecks figure out what they did.

Even though it’s a comedy, this movie handles tension really well. There’s the tension of a missing friend, an impending wedding, and the mind game of figuring out how long they can go without calling the bride. There’s tension between the characters, especially with Alan and his loose handle on reality. Then, there’s a constant feeling of suspense, which creates enormous tension. Each step forward is going to pull back the curtain a little further. When that happens, there’s always a new problem to deal with, leading to suspense uncommon in most comedies.

This movie works and it’s fantastic. This is definitely one of my favorite comedies. I couldn’t really say the same about the second one and I’m not sure what to expect from the third. The first one, however, is great and I always enjoy watching it.

Now it’s your turn! What other comedies manage to create great moments of suspense and tension? What’s your favorite moment from the movie? Are you looking forward to a third installment?