Top of the Otts Movie Countdown #24: The Hangover

24. The Hangover – Someday, some Harvard Business School case will get written on the overthinking idiocy of early decade Vegas attempting to sell itself as family friendly. Or not – this is what happens when you hire MBA’s and try to grow revenue by adding new customers instead of knowing what your core business is. No offense, geniuses, but Disney’s just down the road already and as there’s no such thing as a “Highroller” Mickey…unless that’s some kind of date rape drug. No one’s blowing $100,000 in a night in exchange for comped rollercoaster rides. In 2005, a moribund Sin City went back to basics with the most successful ad campaign of the decade “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.” This is an 80-year old Don Draper Mad Men season arc waiting to happen. Unfortunately, the movie rights for “What Happens in Vegas…” went to a dismal Cameron Diaz-Ashton Kutcher vehicle. In spirit though, The Hangover is “…Stays in Vegas.” And, in a bit of an upset, we have Bradley Cooper as a result, a legitimate cross-genre star instead of the increasingly unfunny Zach Galifinakis, who has been left on the roof to bake with his fern.