If I were still fifteen, I no doubt would be walking around with my head held high today. My two favorite movies would have walked off with Best Motion Picture Golden Globes last night. Not only would I proclaim the inevitably of Avatar’s snag of Best Motion Picture — Drama, but I would rejoice in the courage and forward-thinking of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) for recognizing the genius that is The Hangover, which won for Best Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical.

But I’m not not fifteen anymore. Nor am I jaded, befuddled or disappointed. Snark and derision have no place here; let us appraise what these two big wins at the Golden Globes mean. Read on…

The story of boys getting into raunchy trouble at a friend’s Las Vegas bachelor party is about as old as sin city itself, but never has it been portrayed so haphazardly as in Todd Phillips’s The Hangover. The film aims to offend, gross-out, and perpetuate the myth of alcohol-induced male camaraderie. With strippers, a tiger, Mike Tyson, stereotypical Chinese gangsters and tons of cash to throw around, it seems the only thing Mr. Phillips forgot in this movie was a steady stream of laughs.

After a bang up night that no one can remember, Phil, Stu and Alan wake up sprawled about their Caesar’s suite, a baby in the closet, a tiger in the bathroom and a chicken wandering aimlessly around the place. Doug, the milquetoast groom played by Justin Bartha in whose honor the trio got so royally smashed, has gone missing. The plot of last evening unfurls piecemeal, with the three friends wandering the strip and the desert back and forth in search of their lost buddy. Read on…