Very Bad Things vs. The Hangover
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mathmaniac — 15 years ago(July 02, 2010 07:35 PM)
I just watched 'Very Bad Things' for the first time last night.
It is as dark a comedy as 'The War of the Roses.' Both movies start out with a premise that can easily lead to lots of laughs and light comedy. Both end up dark and tragic and devoid of any shred of hope for happiness.
It's depressing. At the same time, kudos to the filmmakers - of both movies - for taking something and twisting it from what you expect into something almost unrecognizable as comedy. I would not even like to sit through 'Very Bad Things' again - what a downer - but I appreciate the effort and the craft. -
chrisrocknroll — 15 years ago(January 23, 2011 11:13 PM)
This comparison is like apples (The Hangover) to crap (Very Bad Things). One movie has Ed Helms the other has Jeremy Piven. The Hangover gets funnier every time I see it. Very Bad Things is supposed to be a black comedy, yet it isn't even remotely funny and its blackness is just a shaky, adolescently grasped retelling of Crime and Punishment rather than an interesting and authentic feeling character study. It can't be taken seriously on a dramatic level because, if you want to consider it realistically, you have to recognize the fact that the authorities would have snuffed them out pretty quickly; the hotel would have known that the detective had been sent to their room.
If you do somehow think Very Bad Things is a superior version of the Hangover then your intelligence is not to be respected. That's a fact and that's all there is to it. -
lynx617 — 15 years ago(February 24, 2011 07:52 AM)
"It can't be taken seriously on a dramatic level because, if you want to consider it realistically, you have to recognize the fact that the authorities would have snuffed them out pretty quickly; the hotel would have known that the detective had been sent to their room."
Just out of curiosity do you think The Hangover is believable on any level after they wake up? All Doug had to do after throwing a mattress from the roof was yell and draw attention to himself when the crew came to get the mattress. Or how about he would have been found immediately by hotel security considering a mattress was thrown from a high level of a hotel where the windows don't open. I mean reallyno matter what you have to suspend disbelief for both movies to work. -
chrisrocknroll — 15 years ago(February 25, 2011 12:39 AM)
That's true, the plot of the Hangover does require suspension of disbelief, but my point was that The Hangover is actually funny enough to work as a comedy and doesn't demand the viewer consider it realistically. Very Bad Things wasn't funny enough (at I didn't find it funny enough) to justify its existence simply as a comedy. So there is more lifting required of the dramatics. I think the premise actually could have been interesting enough to compensate for the loss of humor if the movie took itself more seriously and posed the question to the viewer of how these men would deal with their guilt. This doesn't work as it is though because there are simply too many plot holes for the movie to be believable on this level. It wasn't funny enough to be a comedy and it wasn't serious enough to be a drama. I just see it as residing in this black-comedy dead zone where it didn't wind up being anywhere near as clever as I'm sure the filmmaker thought he was being.
Don't unform, you're a great mob. We'll think up something else to get upset about. -
DSo1976 — 14 years ago(March 06, 2012 10:21 AM)
The desire to compare is understandable as at the heart of it, they're both bachelor party movies But that's where the similarities end. One is straight up comedy, the other is dark comedy, and both have extremely different plots.
Between the two, my vote for overall entertainment value goes to Very Bad Things by far. I think that virtually everything was better about it over The Hangover.
"You're going to need a bigger boat." - Chief Brody -
Dale257 — 13 years ago(April 04, 2012 05:39 AM)
Not that these films really have anything in common, or should be put together for a vote on which is betterbut just to join in Very Bad Things beats The Hangover in everyway possible. The Hangover was just "OK" nothing special, but this film on the other hand is just "wow, brilliant"
I
Dianna Agron! -
kcott44 — 12 years ago(February 15, 2014 06:15 PM)
Well, They are really not even similar because The Hangover is a straight out comedy and Very Bad Things is a black comedy. Plus, The plots are not very similar either with the exception of an out of control bachelor party taking place and the consequences after that. While I think Very Bad Things had a better cast than The Hangover, Very Bad Things was so disappointing and was barely funny at all and I love black comedies such as Seven Psychopaths and Observe and Report. The Hangover wins in my opinion.
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PinkPancreas — 11 years ago(March 04, 2015 09:48 PM)
To me there is no comparison- "Very Bad Things" was wickedly funny but to appreciate it you really must have a certain kind of humor obviously. "The Hangover" was plain awful. It was not even close to funny. But to each his own. There is definitely no need to insult someone whose taste differs from others. I hate when I see people criticizing others just for having a difference of opinion. The only exception is when I see someone claim "Caddyshack" is not funny. Anyone who doesn't find that movie hilarious is a total idiot!!!
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patkav6 — 10 years ago(August 28, 2015 08:13 PM)
Very Bad Things had little humor. Bunch of yapping but it was ok. Gory yes. The Hangover stole a few ideas thought, like the "I/We beep up line." Also the road trip stuff. The directing was obviously smoother, Todd Philips is solid. I like Berg but he was green here, the jokes were hard to hear cause of the loud music and shouting from the other guys. Plus, we needed to care about these characters from the start, I didn't.