Throwback! The Hangover perfectly captured a guy’s weekend gone horribly wrong — and kick-started some major Hollywood careers in the process.
The 2009 film follows Doug (Justin Bartha) and three of his friends (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis) as they risk it all during Doug’s bachelor party in Las Vegas. However, things take a turn when they wake up unable to remember what went down — and unable to find the man who’s set to tie the knot.
When it hit theaters, the raunchy comedy was a massive success, raking in $16,734,033 in one day. It has since grossed $467,416,722 worldwide and spawned two sequels: 2011’s The Hangover Part II and 2013’s The Hangover Part III.
While it was a major hit among fans, the movie was also honored within the industry, even winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy in January 2010. The cast was also named the Detroit Film Critics Society’s pick for Best Ensemble. As the trilogy came to an end, Cooper opened up about the bond he formed with his costars through the years.
“I mean, anything has a rhythm to it, comedy or drama. There has to be a musicality to it. And everybody can’t play the same instrument, ideally,” he said of working with Helms, Galifianakis and Bartha during a 2013 interview with Collider. “But I think that we all have the same comedic tendencies, and that’s why it works. We all sort of agree with what’s funny. … It’s kind of a wonderful melting pot of ideas for every character.”
Though the actors enjoyed making the outlandish franchise, they don’t seem to be rushing to reprise their roles in a fourth installment.
“Look, that was a good chunk of my life that I do not regret at all, but I wished we had just done one,” Galifianakis admitted during an interview on the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast in January 2016. “I think [it’s best to] leave well enough alone sometimes.”
The Office alum echoed the Due Date star’s feelings four years later while playing a round of “Helms Yes or Helms No” with Access Hollywood.
“I’m gonna say ‘Helms no’ because I think we Helms ran its course,” the Vacation star joked in May 2020 when asked about a possible fourth Hangover movie.
Scroll down to see what the cast of The Hangover is doing now:
