The Hangover is easily the biggest surprise hit of 2009. The R-rated comedy, with a 35-million-dollar budget, was loved by audiences and, all-told, raked in almost $500 million at the box office, as well as over $150 million on home video. The film also won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy. After such a success, a sequel is guaranteed, right? It’s not that easy.

Although Warner Bros. had already commissioned a script for a sequel before the first was released, getting the cast to come back was not easy. After being paid roughly $300,000 each for the original, stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis made sure they were going to be well compensated for the next movie. Warner Bros. originally offered $3 million each, plus 1% of the gross, but the actors stood firm.

After six months of negotiations, Deadline reports that all three stars, as well as director Todd Phillips have signed on for the sequel. The actors will get around $5 million each, in addition to 4% of the gross, while the director will receive $10 million plus 10%, as well as a guarantee that he will earn at least as much as he did for the first – $50 million and still counting.

Principal photography is set to start November 1st, although it must work around both Helms’ “Office” and Cooper’s films’ schedules.

Right now, details are scarce, but, in an interview with Collider, Phillips denied rumors that the sequel would take place in Mexico or Thailand. He also said about the sequel that:

Sometimes movies do well but it’s just this huge flood of people go see them and then you know… this movie just kept going because people kept going back. That tells me that they love those characters and that tells me, not that the movie’s going to financially do better, but just that there’s love out there for these four guys. We can now put them through a whole new set of paces and people will want to see it. So for me, it’s really exciting.

Do you think The Hangover 2 can have the success of its predecessor? I’m sure many will go simply because they loved the first, but can the sequel really compare with the original? Most of The Hangover‘s success was people spreading the word, and going back to the theater with their friends. It will be successful, of course, but I don’t think that it can come to meet such a high precedent.

Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) and Ed Helms (The Office) are joining the Duplass Brothers’ stoner comedy Jeff Who Lives At Home. Helms most recently made the successful jump from the small screen to the big screen in last Summer’s hit comedy The Hangover while Segel starred in I Love You, Man as well as the Judd Apatow comedies Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

The Duplass Brothers’ directed the indie thriller Baghead and  soon to be released Cyrus starring John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei. Jeff Who Lives At Home is being produced byJohn Malkovich’s company Mr. Mudd and Jason Reitman’s Right of Way Films. I believe in jinxes but I also believe this movie can’t miss. Since we’re talking about the Duplass Brothers and television actors I have to say that The League on FX starring Mark Duplass is in my opinion one of the great new sitcoms joining the likes of Modern Family, Glee and Community.

What say you?

Our friends over at Gordon and the Whale spotted some outstanding news yesterday. The Hangover broke the record of the highest grossing rated R movie of all time. With that said, they broke yet another record and only a few weeks after the DVD and Blu-Ray hit the markets.  The Hangover DVD has become the number one selling comedy DVD of all time, with 8.6 million discs sold, including 1.5 million Blu-rays! That is huge news, for something that came absolutely out of left field, this movie is nothing short of a sleeper hit.

As Rusty points out:

How did this happen? I have a well-thought out, and of course, well-researched theory: because THE HANGOVER is awesome.

This movie made it onto my top 10 of 2009 and I wanted it to be number 1 on my list for many reasons. The main reason would be – it’s freaking hilarious! This movie is a sure laugh, unless you are dead. The re-watch of this film is great also, it doesn’t get worse but better on a second and third watch.

Stay tuned for info on the sequel to The Hangover here on Atomic Popcorn. Let us know in the comments below how you feel about this news, or even if you have seen this film.

Want to know why Sigourney Weaver has the comedic ability to do a great job in movies like Ghostbusters or Galaxy Quest? Or why John C. Reilly cracked you up so darn well in Step Brothers?

Take a look at Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm or the highly underappreciated Criminal. These guys have the acting chops to pull off drama effortlessly, and like the best comedic actors, have an understanding of every bit of the craft.

This is why I’m so excited for Miguel Arteta’s (Youth in Revolt) new film Cedar Rapids, which has added Weaver and Reilly to the cast alongside Alia Shawkat, The Office‘s Ed Helms, and Anne Heche.

Rapids, developed by Helms and Phil Johnston (Flightless Birds), the film will “center on a wholesome and naive small-town Wisconsin man (Helms) who, when his role model dies, must represent his company at a regional insurance conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where his mind is blown by the big-town experience.” Weaver will play Helms’ 7th grade teacher, but it’s unknown what Reilly’s role in the film will be.

The Hangover falls victim to having it’s best laughs in the trailer, something most comedies walk right into. Todd Phillips’ new film also lets a few gags run on too long and it features subplots that are unnecessary. Yet with all of this, it’s hard not to laugh at it when it hits the right notes with jokes or be swept up in the command Bradley Cooper has as the lead. Unlike the recent What Happens in Vegas, The Hangover has the ingredients needed to make a good and often hilarious comedy and actually takes place in Vegas for longer than five minutes. Dare I say, The Hangover is the best Vegas comedy and certainly is the best comedy of the year.

The list of positives starts with the script by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore who did impressive work on Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. This is certainly the better of the two as they treat this tale more like a detective story. In fact, the film opens in the middle of the narrative and retraces the steps to how we get to the predicament our leads are in now. Along the way the trio goes from place to place searching for clues on how to find their friend and along the way get into some hilarious shenanigans that involve the now infamous tiger, a chicken who comes out of nowhere, and best of all, a police car. Todd Phillips’ direction though is what keeps things afloat even if a joke or gag doesn’t belong or feels like it’s overstayed it’s welcome. While some of the antics these boys get into feel outlandish, Phillips’ reminds us that after all this is Vegas and that wild things can happen. As crazy as it is, I can buy that most of these events could plausibly happen, even the gag with the police car. Anyone who’s been to Vegas knows that you’re a different person there than you are in real life and Phillips understands this. Most of the time, he never lets things get too overblown or stupid unlike most comedies that would rather their heroes unwittingly be chased by firemen.

Speaking of the heroes, all of these gentlemen knock it out of the park. Zach Galifianakis steals the show as Tracy’s brother Alan. It’s been a good while since we’ve had a character that can guarantee laughs and Galifianakis is more than willing to answer the call. The man just has this delivery that’s been lacking in the ‘goofball’ character present in all these films. He’s crude, funny, and just plain out there and Galifianakis never plays him as annoying or obnoxious even if the characters treat him like that. Bradley Cooper is the ring leader of the group looking for their lost compadre and the man has a natural screen presence. This should be the first of many leading parts for Bradley who is subtle in his approach of playing the alpha male Phil (nice name by the way.) Ed Helms portrays “Dr. Douchebag” Stu Price as the reserved nerd of the group. Like the rest, he’s not unlikable and is the character that takes the most in terms of gags and jokes. Helms accepts it and plays it normal, never coming off like someone you’d want launch off the top of the MGM. Rounding out the leading four is Justin Bartha’s Doug who is the reason for the quartet being in Vegas. He’s unfortunately given the least to do even if his predicament is ironically hilarious. Bartha doesn’t do a bad job but he just doesn’t seem to really know what to do with the little he’s given.

The supporting cast is surprisingly good starting with Heather Graham. Her character Jade is a stripper that Stu “accidentally” marries and actually helps him learn more about himself. Yes, she still looks gorgeous and that’s likely why she was cast but she actually does a fine job as a stripper who, ironically, cares about Stu even after one night. Stu’s real girlfriend is played by Rachael Harris and the woman embodies the ultimate bitch like she did in her Quaker Oats commercials. If the intent is to hate this character more than life itself then Phillips, Harris and company should be applauded. Interestingly enough, Mike Tyson is the one who surprises the most. True his best bit in the film is in the trailer, but he doesn’t feel like he’s reading lines off of a cue card anywhere and actually feels natural. Basically there’s no need to cringe if he ever pops up in another film. Mike Epps though, is a different story. Between the loathe for Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Next Day Air, one could make the arguement I have it out for him. I don’t but the man just chooses bad projects to be a part of. This film runs circles around any movie he’s done in the past few years but here he feels unnecessary.

One can’t blame Epps though, as the film adds a pointless plot about an Asian crime lord named Mr. Chow that the quartet supposedly stole $80,000 from. It’s here where the film showcases it’s biggest weakness. The Hangover has established that it’s already the most twisted Vegas story ever and even without the gay Asian crime lord it would have been a hilariously great film instead of just a hilariously good comedy. Instead Phillips, Lucas and Moore feel they have to get too obscure with this story and include something that feels it belongs in Miss March rather than a smarter, better film. While The Hangover is often times hilarious, there are some dead lulls in between the laughs. That’s not to say the audience won’t be crying with laughter at some spots but portions of the film continue without any laughter until the next big joke comes twenty minutes later. Thankfully though, the characters are interesting enough and the story is fun enough to keep the audience hungry. It’s still solid writing, but the film could have benefited from at least a chuckle here and there to whet the audience’s appetite for jokes.

The Hangover is the best comedy of the year and one that should improve on repeat viewings. It’s successes far outweigh it’s downfalls and the greatest thing about is how well the leads and Todd Phillips handle one of the wildest nights in Vegas. The dynamic between the quartet is the best in a comedy all year and the jokes, even if spoiled by the trailer, still kill every time they pounce up on screen. The script is a lot smarter than it has any right to be but some great comedy direction and great chemistry make this thing chug along. Will it be a comedy classic? Well, it certainly has the potential to become one but for now it should rest easy knowing it’s going to please those waiting for the first great comedy of the year.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

My cheeks hurt, seriously, they are hurting me from laughing so hard through Todd Philips’ The Hangover. The Hangover is now atop my list of favorite comedies in the last I don’t know how many years. Old School has it’s spot, Out Cold has been watched over and over, Superbad was funny but in a very immature crude way, The Hangover gets my top spot for comedies period. Yes Life of Bryan and all of the classics are up there, but this hit the spot big time!!

Philips’ has done a great job of bringing Las Vegas to us. The on set locations of Cesar’s Palace along with many other “on the strip” locations is all brought to the viewer in the best way possible. The real way! The hallways are from Cesar’s, the elevator scenes, the rooms, everything is real and it makes the movie what it is. The acting is on par with the locations also. Philips’ has brought together a rag tag team of comedians and hit the comedy jackpot!

Carlos and the boys

The on screen chemistry between Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Justin Bartha is pure brilliance. The improv on this film surely has to be at super high levels. It comes off as they are truly best of friends. No beat is missed, no joke left behind, nothing at all was missed with these four on screen. It’s as if they have known each other for years. The laughs start out hard and in your face and continue to roll through until the credits. The humor is very adult which is refreshing to be honest. The humor of Superbad is more schticky and immature, Old School is more of a gag humor, this is just completely out of control humor all based on one forgotten night in Vegas.

Zach Galifianakis is the hit of the whole film. His well played odd brother in law character made the entire film. From the wolf pack speech, to Mike Tyson’s encounter, it was a great performance for “fat Jesus”. Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms put in great performances in their own unique ways. Helms shows off his already famous signing from his Office appearances, along with a great interaction with the guys. Cooper shines as the father an school teacher slash bad ass. He is the leader of the gang that is trying to remain that way while having a soft heart for his family etc.

Great story, great acting, and very big laughs. What more can one want from a comedy? This is not a family film by any means. The language is very over the top, the R rating is correct and well placed, but that will not deter many from this film. The Hangover will go down as a must have Blu-Ray, DVD, VHS and a fun re-watch over and over for some hysterical laughs.

Make Sure to Stay after the credits!!

Rating: ★★★★☆