For many men, being part of a bachelor party is the perfect excuse to act like buffoons at their annual Celebrate Buffoonery convention. It entails lots of drinking, a certain amount of man-hugging, and more than likely a lady or two taking their clothes off for their viewing pleasure.

In their defence however, they tend to be less messy than the riots that are hen parties; perhaps director Todd Philips could redress the balance in the sequel perhaps?

The Hangover sees four friends go to Las Vegas to let rip a little before their friend Doug (Justin Bartha) gets hitched. However, things don’t go exactly to plan when one of them – oddball Alan (Zach Galifianakis) - slips roofies into their drinks, instead of the intended ecstasy pills. This means that three of them wake up the following day, with their suite a complete mess (complete with an animal or two) and the groom-to-be missing. The effects of the drug mean that none of them can remember anything about the night before, and are completely in the dark regarding Doug’s whereabouts.

Buddy movie my ass. This is Three Men & a Baby 3!

With the wedding the next day, they begin the task of retracing their steps to learn not only what exactly happened to Doug, but to all of them in the last twelve hours. Bit by bit, they piece together that they crossed ex boxer/bad boy Mike Tyson; won a lot of money at the tables, crossed an oriental gangster; oh and one of them marries a hooker (played by Heather Graham). But with the wedding looming, they still can’t find their friend Doug.

Director Philips has a distinctive M.O. when it comes to comedies, having helmed Road Trip, Starsky & Hutch, and School for Scoundrels in the past. Thankfully for him – and everyone else – this is his funniest effort to date. Somehow it manages to steer itself clear of the usual guys on the loose in Sin City effort, by trying to push the comedy in a different direction. It’s hardly ground-breaking stuff, but at least it attempts a few cinematic curve balls for its type.

The casting is interesting too, with no ‘A’ lister in sight; in fact, you’d have to go some way through the alphabet to get a recognisable face. Comedy legend Jeffrey Tambor (who not only played one of the greatest comedy characters of all time – Hank ‘hey now’ Kingsley in The Larry Sanders Show, but also the magnificent George Bluth Snr in Arrested Development) is vastly underused as the bride-to-be’s father, with the screen time that would just about boil an egg. In fact the only real big name is that of Heather Graham who again, has nothing more than a cameo spot, but seems to at least enjoy it while it lasts.

That leaves the film then to rest on the relatively unknown shoulders of the bachelor boys. And it has to be said, they pull it off. Kudos has to go to Galifianakis who plays Alan; he has a touch of the Rain Man about him – to the extent that he even parodies him, as well as the sensation of you're never quite sure what to expect from him. Plus hats off too to Ed Helms who plays Stu; who shows that there’s certainly another side to him than just playing the rather creepy Andy Bernard in The (US) Office.

The film throughout wallows deeply in silliness, but by this point it’s already won you over with its goofy charm, so you really don’t care. In fact the sillier it gets, the better. That said, it certainly goes off the boil with the Mike Tyson plot, but it’s easy to let that pass.

The only real downside is that The Hangover 2 already appears to be in development; which is a shame, as it will be highly doubtful that it will be able to capture the overall fun factor of the first.

It most certainly isn’t up there as one of the greatest comedies of all time, but if you fancy a change from this summer’s (unusually disappointing) blockbusters, then this ride to Vegas maybe just the trip for you.