The Hangover (2009, USA)

Despite some of the best sight gags being featured in the trailer (I hate when that happens), The Hangover is pretty damn funny. And while Bradley Cooper brings the smarm and Ed Helms blusters amusingly, most of the film rests on the pudgy shoulders of Zach Galifianakis. I love Zach Galifianakis. I watched Out Cold because he was in it. Seriously. As awkward man-child Alan, Galifianakis toes that same line that Steve Coogan does in movies like Hamlet 2 – so over-the-top that he’s simultaneously hilarious and disturbing. Galifianakis gets away with it more easily than Coogan, probably because he’s not so effeminate (As long as Seth stays out of it. Parts of Live at the Purple Onion get really, really weird.), and also because his delivery is generally so deadpan. Comedians like Coogan and Will Ferrell are hyperactive, pushing so hard that they make comedy look like work. Galifianakis, on the other hand, is at his best when he’s laconic, because unlike those other guys, he looks like he believes every single insane thing that comes out of his mouth.