This is what you get when you forget to take three Advil and a quart of water before passing out: "The Hangover"

I was kind of on the fence on this one. The trailer looked amusing enough but suggested a movie that was uneven at best. But the reviews were mediocre to good, and the box office has been big. With a free day before my new career begins, I gave the latest from the director of "Road Trip and "Old School" a shot.

Our story is stupefyingly simple. A groom-to-be, his two buddies and his future brother-in-law head to Las Vegas for a bachelor party/night of craziness. Fast forward to the next morning, where they and their room are in disastrous shape, and the groom is nowhere to be found. Even better, nobody remembers anything. So the race is on to find the groom and figure out what the heck happened. Care to guess what ensues?

Our foursome are straight from central casting and, while not recognizable by name, familiar from other works. The groom is the good-looking straight man, played by Nic Cage's sidekick from the "National Treasure" movies. (And more tolerable here.) His pals are the handsome rogue played by Sack Lodge from "Wedding Crashers" and a nerdy, henpecked dentist played by Andy Bernard from "The Office." The fat, childlike brother-in-law is some comedian from the Fat Slob comedy mold.

Supporting players include Mike Tyson (yes), George Bluth from "Arrested Development," Rollergirl and the little Asian dude who was the roleplaying game king in "Role Models." This last guy deserves special recognition because he's hilarious in all three of his scenes, even if a bit too revealing at first.

But hey, this is about the crazy stuff, not the acting. "The Hangover" is simply yet another excuse to string together a bunch of off-the-wall scenes and salacious lines. Some work, some don't. My big problem with the movie was the repetition. It's maybe 90 minutes long, yet there seemed to be a lot of times -- even with the different kooky stuff going on -- where it was the dentist freaking out, the good-looking guy saying, "Be cool," and the fat guy saying idiotic things. Yes, we know everyone's roles here. Move on.

I'm probably biased because I've seen them several times each, but "Old School" and "Road Trip" both are better when it comes to the immature guys or raunchy odyssey themes. "Old School" especially worked because it had separate acts and evolving characters. While I laughed more than a few times and liked it better than I thought, "The Hangover" certainly didn't break any fresh ground, nor did it stand out in this crowded comedy climate. And if I never see that Asian dude's little weiner or the fat, bearded guy's flabby butt again, I'm good.