Research - The Hangover Opening (2009)

Institutional Information:
The Hangover is about three best friends who wake up in Las Vegas after a wild Bachelor party with no recollection of the night and the bachelor missing. The three buddies follow their steps around the city piecing the night back together in order to find Dug and get him home in time for his wedding. The movie was released on 5 June 2009 with an estimated budget of $35,000,000 making  $44,979,319 on opening weekend. Overall the movie grossed $277,313,371 all together. The film was directed by Todd Phillips who was also known for Old School (2003). It was written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore who are also known for his work on Wedding Crashers, 27 Dresses and Chicken Little. It stars famous actors Bradley Cooper who has also appeared in He's Just Not That Into You (2009) and American Hustle (2013), along with comedy actor Zach Galifianakis.

Target Audience/ Genre:
The genre of this movie is comedy, this is from the comedic characters that are presented throughout the story. Other aspects of the movie that point to the comedy genre is some of the plot stories, for example during the film one of the characters looses a tooth my ripping it out his own mouth. This wouldn't be taken seriously in a movie of a more serious genre such as crime. The target audience for this movie is older audiences, this is due to it being rate R. The film also contains strong language and nudity which wouldn't be appropriate for younger audiences.

Mis En Scene/ Shots:
The opening of the scene is set up in two different locations: a wedding and the desert. The first shots used for the opening are of the wedding. Its set in a sophisticated venue, this shows that a lot of time and money has been invested into this day, showing its significance to the characters, the whole idea behind the movie is to get Dug back in time as he is the Groom. The shots of the wedding are very smooth creating a sense of calmness, this juxtaposes against the anxiousness surrounding the bride at the unknown whereabouts of her soon-to-be husband. Most of the shots are long shots which fade in and out of one another, this again creates the peaceful tone.

This point-of-view shot is used to help transition from the outside setting of the wedding to the room indoors where the bride and her family is. This shot gives us the perspective of the brides mum who is looking outside. The next shot used is a close up showing a worried look on the Mothers face, this is the audiences first clue that something has gone wrong. The directer has also used a medium shot of the bride with unfocused characters in the background. We can see one of the characters is reading a magazine; this suggests that the character is extremely bored as its normally rare for older males to be reading magazines, this is only generally done in places such as waiting rooms, therefore it suggests they have been waiting a long time for something, in this case getting hold of Dug. This is presented again by the young girl picking her fingernails in the long shot showing the back of the bride.  

We are then shown a medium shot of character on the other end of the phone to the bride. This shot shows the characters after the disturbance of the film, this immediately gives the viewer an understanding of what the plot of the film will be, without giving it away. The dirt and the scruffiness of the characters shows that something has gone wrong. This is reinforced by the look of distress from the bride. The depth of field shows a character on the phone with three others in the background some sat on a damaged car, this illustrates that they have been through an ordeal. This leaves the viewer questioning what could have happened to cause so much disturbance. 

This even closer shot as the character says 'We can't find Dug', the background of this shot shows the ongoing horizon, this illustrates the vast expanse the characters are in, this emphasises that finding Dug is going to be almost impossible.

Sound:
In the opening of the Hangover during the shots of the wedding, french music has been added into the background as non-diegetic sound, this is because France has connotations of love. During the background of the shots you hear three voicemail answer messages, this adds a tone of desperation to the opening suggesting that something has gone wrong last minute which they need to sort out. As Bradley Coopers character says 'Yeah, thats not gonna happen' loud rock music is added as non-diegetic sound, this adds emphasis to the line, therefore setting the plot for the rest of the movie. Rock music generally connates the male gender, this links with the theme of 'brotherhood' that the four main characters have throughout the film. It also has a rough feel to it, this links with the rough few days they have experienced after loosing Dug.

Conclusion:      
Overall this is a very successful opening. By introducing a scene near the ending in the beginning, it jumps straight into the plot giving the audience an idea of what the film will be about. Showing the dirt on the characters face in the desert, shocks the audience and leaves them wondering what could have happened for them to end up looking so disgruntled, this therefore keeps them watching. This curveball they throw in half-way through the opening tells the audience, although this is a comedy all bets are off, anything could have happened which keeps the audience eager to find out what.