Back in the summer of 2009, The Hangover arrived as a landmark for film comedy. Following the modest success of such raunchy R-rated comedies as The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Wedding Crashers, The Hangover marked a turning point for the genre as a bona fide blockbuster with numbers to match Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes.
It’s common for a popular Hollywood comedy to spawn a sequel, but that sequel is rarely as successful as the original, spawning an additional sequel to round out the trilogy. It all began with one fateful trip to Vegas. Here are the 10 funniest scenes in The Hangover.
Mike Tyson Punches Alan
Remembering almost nothing from the previous night, the guys are pretty perplexed when they find a live tiger in the bathroom of their hotel suite. The tiger turns out to belong to Mike Tyson, who is waiting for the guys when they first return to the hotel.
They find Tyson belting out a rendition of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” by the piano. When he breaks into a solo on the vocals, he walks over to the guys and punches Alan in the face, knocking him to the ground.
“Indiana Jones Has One.”
When the guys are first heading out for the night that will change their lives, Phil, Stu, and Doug are horrified by the satchel slung over Alan’s shoulder.
At first, they think it’s a purse, but he explains that it’s actually a satchel, and that it’s cool because “Indiana Jones has one.”
A Naked Mr. Chow Jumps Out Of The Trunk
Midway through The Hangover, the guys think their problems are solved when they hear someone banging from inside the trunk. They figure they’ve locked Doug in the trunk and they’ll be able to go home straight away.
However, when they open the trunk, a naked and very angry Mr. Chow jumps out of the trunk with a crowbar in his hand and mercilessly beats them.
“You Are Literally Too Stupid To Insult.”
Phil and Stu are pretty bummed out when Doug brings his fiancée’s weird brother, Alan, along for their bachelor party. They were expecting to just hang out with their friends, so they were disappointed that Alan was coming along.
By the end of the movie, they’d become endeared to Alan, but it took a long time to get there. At one point, Stu tells Alan, “You are literally too stupid to insult,” and Alan immediately proves his point by replying, “Thank you.”
Alan’s Awkward Toast
Before the wild night out that kicks The Hangover into its second act, Alan awkwardly proposes a toast to Doug. He introduces the idea of the guys being a “wolfpack” that runs throughout the rest of the trilogy.
From his cringeworthy opener (“How ‘bout that ride in? I guess that’s why they call it Sin City...”) to his ominous “blood brothers” proposition, Alan’s toast is an awkward delight. Zach Galifianakis leans into the awkwardness brilliantly.
“It’s At The Corner Of Get A Map And F*** Off.”
The morning after Doug’s wild bachelor party, they follow a paper trail back to a hospital. They expected to find Doug there, but only got another lead in what would become a long, arduous search for their lost friend.
When they ask the doctor who gives them the lead (played hilariously by Veep’s Matt Walsh) for directions, he sarcastically tells them, “It’s at the corner of get a map and f*** off.”
Stu Finds His Missing Tooth
When the guys wake up after their crazy night, they have to figure out all the mistakes they made, just to be able to regret them.
Stu is a dentist, so he’s horrified to discover that he ripped out one of his teeth when he was blackout drunk.
“Not At The Table, Carlos!”
When Phil, Stu, and Alan wake up with the titular hangover, they find that Doug is gone and there’s a live tiger and an unfamiliar baby in their hotel room.
Alan takes over looking after the baby, calling him Carlos, and wiggles his hand to make it look like he’s “jacking his little weenis” at the table when they’re eating breakfast.
Alan Gets Tasered By A Kid
During a school field trip to the prison where Phil, Stu, and Alan are being held, a smug kid takes a picture of Alan on his phone, so he kicks the phone out of the kid’s hand. This is the start of an intense rivalry.
Later, the guys make an agreement with the Vegas cops to be let off the hook by agreeing to take part in a Taser demonstration. Alan gets Tasered by the kid whose phone he kicked.
The Photo Montage In The End Credits
At the end of The Hangover, Doug finds his digital camera, which is filled with pictures from their wild night out, and brings it to the guys at the wedding reception. In what would become a franchise tradition, they agree to look at the pictures once and delete them.
Then, we’re treated to a montage of the photos throughout the end credits. One thing is clear from this slideshow: those guys had an insane night in Vegas.