ABSTRACT
The opening scenes of e Hangover (2009) show the wedding preparations of a very rich household, which we assume is located somewhere in California because of the particular combination of sunshine and style. It all looks beautiful. Seemingly to reinforce the perfection of the happy day, the accompanying song is the ice creamy 1898 Neapolitan classic, O sole mio, the first line of which (in English) is “What a beautiful thing is a sunny day”. e Hangover’s version of O sole mio is – entirely against expectation – not even remotely as romantic. Written and performed by El Vez (the stage name of Mexican-American Robert Lopez, the Mexican Elvis), this song is about gang warfare:
Surely, this is a strange opening for a romantic comedy? Yet, we will see that El Vez’s song is actually the perfect introduction to movie: not only does what is said contradict what is shown, its darker side is also hidden in the bright sunshine of familiarity. But, the audience has little time to register the intended irony; the song is quickly drowned out by voicemail messages for Doug, Dr Stewart Price and finally Phil – none of whom answer their phones. The bride-to-be, Tracy Garner, is exasperated and worried: where are they? Helpfully, her father, Sid, seeks to reassure her. The men are in Vegas so, he reasons, they are probably gambling; gambling means they have probably lost track of time; and, if they are winning, they certainly wouldn’t break their lucky streak by answering Tracy’s calls. Then she gets a call from Phil. Tracy angrily despairs: “Where the hell are you guys? I am freaking out”. Phil delivers the bad news: “Yeah, listen … we fucked up … the bachelor party … the whole night … it’s a … things got out of control … and … er … we lost Doug. We can’t find Doug”. Danzig’s song irteen blasts into the movie. It opens “Bad luck wind been blowin’ on my back”, but the standout line is “I was born in the soul of misery”. At this point, you would hardly guess that this movie was going to win a Golden Globe Award for best Musical or Comedy (on 17 January 2010).
