# I literally have no idea what was even supposed to be funny about "The Hangover" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777 "2010-12-03T07:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/81 "2010-12-05T19:52:44Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I don’t remember that scene (been meaning to start this thread for over a year and had a random burst of inspiration the other day). Is it on Youtube? https://www.youtube.com/embed/DxICZ7d4-EA?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque 1:00-3:00 pretty much. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/82 "2010-12-05T19:59:55Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I think it’s pretty darn funny. I’ve seen it twice and liked it both times. I think it’s roughly as funny as \*Superbad \*(though, from that list of movies given upthread, I’d say _Role Models_ is the best.) > > I have a pretty broad sense of humor, so there are a lot of movies I find funny. I don’t think _The Hangover_ is one of the funniest movies of all time, or anything (that’d be _Ghostbusters_), but it’s certainly good for some laughs. > > ETA: The only part of the movie I didn’t really found funny (or found less funny) was the naked Chinese gay guy in the trunk. I don’t like it when stereotypes are played up for laughs. There’s a stereotype about naked Chinese guys hiding in car trunks and attacking people with tire irons when the trunk is opened? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/83 "2010-12-05T20:01:26Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxICZ7d4-EA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxICZ7d4-EA) > > 1:00-3:00 pretty much. THAT is supposed to be funny? No wonder I didn’t remember it. That is seriously about as funny as watching C-SPAN to me. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/84 "2010-12-05T20:40:31Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > THAT is supposed to be funny? No wonder I didn’t remember it. That is seriously about as funny as watching C-SPAN to me. I was just about to post this! It’s exactly as unfunny as I remembered it being. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/85 "2010-12-05T20:42:03Z")
I found it disturbingly unfunny, and I was appalled that the audience in the theater with me laughed the hardest on the lines involving insults, ugly slurs and every -ism (the bad sort) under the sun. It’s like the worst possible traits of the most offensive sorts of people, rolled into two hours with not a single character who’s worth caring about. Blech. > [@acsenray](#): > > I disagree. _Superbad_ is one of the best comedies ever made. _The Hangover_ is nowhere close to being in that league. Superbad is a movie about teenaged boys conspiring and scheming to get some girls drunk so that they can rape them. I’m still working out why that’s funny at all. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/86 "2010-12-05T20:50:55Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > It’s like the worst possible traits of the most offensive sorts of people, rolled into two hours with not a single character who’s worth caring about. Blech. To me, comedy works better with unsympathetic characters. Otherwise, it’s pandering. > [@](#): > > Superbad is a movie about teenaged boys conspiring and scheming to get some girls drunk so that they can rape them. I’m still working out why that’s funny at all. A story is not what it is about, but how it is about it. In the proper context, everything is funny, including irresponsibility, addiction, cannibalism, genocide, and date rape. ---
**Author:** ![Chum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@Chum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chum)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/87 "2010-12-05T21:36:41Z")
I think it’s a funny, if extremely stupid, movie. I really enjoy the undisguised hatred Bradley Cooper’s character has for Zach Galifianakis’ character. Ed Helms’ song at the piano is wonderful, as is Zach Galifianakis’ “three best friends” song. The Ken Jeong stuff is hilarious. Oh, subjectivity. Indeed. Sadly, I can’t explain _why_ I think this stuff is funny. None of it is brilliant. At all. I hate the Mike Tyson part. I don’t think the masturbating baby bit is all that funny. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/88 "2010-12-05T21:42:15Z")
> [@Stillwell\_Angel](#): > > That was the only laugh I had the entire time. But it had nothing to do with his race or sexual orientation. It was all about the shock of a naked screaming guy leaping out of the trunk. I didn’t see it coming, and it cracked me up. _shrug_ I didn’t really mean the actual moment when he emerged from the trunk, I mean that the character’s entire comedic value for the duration of the movie seemed to be summed up by: 1. He has a funny accent 2. He’s effeminate 3. Therefore, he’s ridiculous! I happen to think the actor who played that role is very talented, so I was mostly pretty amused and able to enjoy the film. I’m just, generally, not entertained by the ‘‘effeminate men are hilarious’’ theme that runs through a lot of movies of this genre. I don’t think there is anything intrinsically funny about being gay or acting feminine. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/89 "2010-12-05T21:53:55Z")
This thread is like Remedial Humor for Aspergers 100. Didn’t anyone ever hear the axiom that you can’t explain a joke without sucking all the humor out of it? If you didn’t find the movie funny, that’s perfectly fine. To try and mount a case that the movie is objectively unfunny is both laughable and sad at the same time. It moves into the embarassing range when you try to position yourself above it all, like you can’t even imagine how the unwashed masses could see the humor. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/90 "2010-12-05T22:00:08Z")
The problem with this movie is that it’s stupid _at it’s very core_. Superbad is about growing up and all the crazy shit that happens might be exaggerated for humor sake, but it makes sense. Hot Tub Time Machine has a stupid premise, but at it’s heart, it’s sweet and funny. When you dig through the layers of The Hangover, it’s just more stupidity. Stupid characters you hate behaving in stupid, inexplicable ways, and then the big twist is that the guy has been up on a roof in Las Vegas for like 24 hours. He’s not dead? Nobody else noticed him up there? They got an entire mattress there without security noticing? The payoff for sitting through all that bullshit was to have your intelligence insulted–not just insulted but spit on and kicked in the nads. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/91 "2010-12-05T22:38:47Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > It moves into the embarassing range when you try to position yourself above it all, like you can’t even imagine how the unwashed masses could see the humor. But what if you really didn’t see the humor - couldn’t even imagine how it could be funny? The only way I can see it is to try to recall why I used to think the 3 Stooges were funny, but I can’t reproduce my state of mind from that far back. I think it’s sort of like party clown humor. When you were a kid, you probably thought they were hilarious and wanted one for your next birthday party. But if now as a parent you hire one, even if they are amusing, are they nearly as funny to you as the kids seem to find him or her? I doubt it. I think the hangover represents an evolution of the genre of slapstick and stupid guy humor, but I also think it is still firmly within that genre. > [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > The problem with this movie is that it’s stupid _at it’s very core_. Superbad is about growing up and all the crazy shit that happens might be exaggerated for humor sake, but it makes sense. Hot Tub Time Machine has a stupid premise, but at it’s heart, it’s sweet and funny. When you dig through the layers of The Hangover, it’s just more stupidity. Stupid characters you hate behaving in stupid, inexplicable ways, and then the big twist is that the guy has been up on a roof in Las Vegas for like 24 hours. He’s not dead? Nobody else noticed him up there? They got an entire mattress there without security noticing? The payoff for sitting through all that bullshit was to have your intelligence insulted–not just insulted but spit on and kicked in the nads. Thank you for making me not regret seeing the rest of the movie. Seriously. I’ve always been a little curious about how it ended, but not enough to sit through another minute of it. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/92 "2010-12-06T00:08:45Z")
> [@dzero](#): > > I think it’s sort of like party clown humor. When you were a kid, you probably thought they were hilarious and wanted one for your next birthday party. But if now as a parent you hire one, even if they are amusing, are they nearly as funny to you as the kids seem to find him or her? I doubt it. Yes, yes, we understand how very mature you are. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/93 "2010-12-06T02:15:11Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxICZ7d4-EA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxICZ7d4-EA) > > 1:00-3:00 pretty much. Wow, first time ever I have to FF on a 3mn clip. There’s not one funny bit in that whole clip, acting is bad, I’m amazed that simulating a baby to masturbate would ever be mentioned as a high point of this movie. Typical Appatow crap, I dont know how he does it but almost all of the movies I’ve seen where he is involved turn out to be totally unfunny frat house material. The only exceptions come from good directors like Adam McKay, director of Anchorman or Talladega Nights, those were definitely good (especially Anchorman). ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/94 "2010-12-06T04:57:21Z")
I enjoyed it, the tiger ripping up daddy’s pride and joy…great Gay naked gangster locked in trunk…freaking hiliarious Pissing into mike tysons pool - death wish It was cool… ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/95 "2010-12-06T05:00:23Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Typical Appatow crap, I dont know how he does it but almost all of the movies I’ve seen where he is involved turn out to be totally unfunny frat house material. The only exceptions come from good directors like Adam McKay, director of Anchorman or Talladega Nights, those were definitely good (especially Anchorman). Judd Apatow had nothing to do with The Hangover. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/96 "2010-12-06T15:31:48Z")
Who is hailing this as “one of the funniest movies ever”? I’ve (thankfully) never met a single person who has said anything like that. I’ve met people who have liked it, but they don’t give it quite that level of props. Anyway, this thread title is about 100 times funnier than the movie. You literally have _no_ idea what was even _supposed_ to be funny about it? Ha ha! Such hyperbole amuses me. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > If I say it was hilarious do I lose my “sophisticated and intelligent” cred? Yes. Seriously now, different strokes and all of that. > [@Cisco](#): > > THAT is supposed to be funny? No wonder I didn’t remember it. That is seriously about as funny as watching C-SPAN to me. You obviously don’t watch those morning call-in shows. Those are hil-AR-ious! My response to this movie from an earler thread: [QUOTE=Me] [QUOTE=Stephe96] “Thanks a lot, bin Laden.” [/QUOTE] This was funny. Still, I didn’t care for the movie. There have been a few stupid fratboy movies recently that I’ve found to be actually entertaining, and I was hoping this would be one of them. But no, it was just stupid, over-the-top, slapstick, “Ooh, look, a tiger!” nonsense. It seemed to me like they were trying to cram as much wacky, nonsensical tomfoolery as they could into 90 minutes, hastily interjecting lazy jokes intermittently, lest we forget this is supposed to be a comedy. Oh well, gave me something to do Sunday besides cleaning. And there’s a neat little bar next to the movie theatre, so I’m pleased. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/97 "2010-12-06T17:50:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Still, I didn’t care for the movie. There have been a few stupid fratboy movies recently that I’ve found to be actually entertaining, and I was hoping this would be one of them. But no, it was just stupid, over-the-top, slapstick, “Ooh, look, a tiger!” nonsense. It seemed to me like they were trying to cram as much wacky, nonsensical tomfoolery as they could into 90 minutes, hastily interjecting lazy jokes intermittently, lest we forget this is supposed to be a comedy. Oh well, gave me something to do Sunday besides cleaning. And there’s a neat little bar next to the movie theatre, so I’m pleased. Pretty much agree with you except I think watching it is slightly less interesting than cleaning on a Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Stillwell\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@Stillwell\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stillwell_Angel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/98 "2010-12-06T23:25:59Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Who is hailing this as “one of the funniest movies ever”? Well, some chick on my facebook for one thing. About 3 times a month she posts that she’s watching it again. Then a little later she posts about how much she loves it. Then a little later she posts about how she could watch it a thousand more times and it still makes her ROFLMAO…and on and on and on. In fact, she is the whole reason I watched it. I thought it must be pretty damn funny for her to be constantly watching it and praising it. That’s the last time I listen to her about what movie to see… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/99 "2010-12-07T00:53:17Z")
I’m so glad you used “literally”. I was literally scratching my head, wondering if you literally meant it wasn’t actually _literally_ funny. I literally peed my pants laughing… but not at “The Hangover”. Well, if I’m being literal, anyway… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777/100 "2010-12-07T01:01:22Z")
> [@Stillwell\_Angel](#): > > Well, some chick on my facebook… THIS is what’s wrong with modern society/zeitgeist/sitz-im-leben/lederhosen/whatEVER. btw, my man/laptop/book bag has a nametag sticker on it. I wrote: It’s a [SIZE=“6”]SATCHEL. Indiana Jones has one. [/SIZE] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-literally-have-no-idea-what-was-even-supposed-to-be-funny-about-the-hangover/562777.md?page=6)