Zack Galifianakis is one reason what makes Hangover movies so good. What's the Hangover movie without Alan in the Wolfpack. Below is the interview with Zack Galifianakis about Hangover Part III.
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| Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures |
He
has endeared himself to worldwide audiences by playing Alan, the mayhem-causing
member of the Wolfpack. Now, comic actor Zach Galifianakis reprises the
eccentric character for the last time in Warner Bros.’ male-oriented comedy “The
Hangover Part III,” the epic finale of the hugely successful franchise.
In the film, the only member of the Wolfpack who’s not
content is Alan. Still lacking a sense of purpose, the group’s black sheep has
ditched his meds and given into his natural impulses in a big way—which, for
Alan, means no boundaries, no filters and no judgment—until a personal crisis
forces him to finally seek the help he needs.
And
who better than his three best friends – Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms)
and Doug (Justin Bartha) -- to make sure he takes the first step? This time,
there’s no bachelor party. No wedding. What could possibly go wrong? But when
the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off.
“The guys, led by Doug, who is Alan’s
brother-in-law as well as his friend, stage an intervention in the hopes of
getting him into a facility where he can get some help and put his life in
order,” says director Todd Phillips. “Knowing he can’t do it alone, Doug
enlists Phil and Stu. So it’s helping Alan that brings the four of them
together.”
Naturally,
Alan is resistant, but he finally gives in to the irresistible promise of a
road trip with his three best friends. “Alan has to be told he’s having a
midlife crisis because he’s not aware of it,” Galifianakis admits. “He has no
idea. I guess it’s more like a coming-of-age crisis, but it’s hard to come of
age when you’re already over 40.”
Unbeknownst
to the four of them, though, Alan’s long-overdue bid for mental health
coincides with an equally momentous event occurring halfway around the world:
Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) is breaking out of prison, “Shawshank”-style, and, like
a malevolent genie freshly uncorked, will waste no time in bringing havoc into
the lives of anyone close to him. And no one is closer to him than Alan.
As
a result, states Helms, “What starts out as a fairly magnanimous gesture
quickly escalates into utter chaos and hell.”
Still,
Phillips asserts, “If you talk to people who love these movies, they’ll often
say they wish they had a friend like Alan, and that’s largely attributable to
Zach. He has such sweetness behind his eyes, that he can say and do most
anything and you’ll think, ‘Oh, he didn’t mean it like that.’ So he gets away
with all sorts of things. People love Alan for his innocence, his big heart,
and his ability to just have a good time without worrying about what other
people think—which is good, even though he always goes too far and screws it
up.”
“It’s
kind of bittersweet knowing that, after this, I won’t be able to play Alan ever
again. It was a nice run, though,” Zach Galifianakis remarks, considering the
persona that has earned a worldwide following and made a significant impact on
his own life and career.
Knowing
that “people come to these movies not to be enlightened, but to laugh and be
entertained,” co-screenwriter Craig Mazin adds, “I think we laugh more when we
care, and Todd and I care very much about these characters so we wanted to
finish this in a meaningful way, and that meant dealing with Alan.”
Consequently,
“The Hangover Part III” nudges Alan onto an inner journey he desperately needs,
that runs parallel to the story’s main action. “I hate to suggest he grows up
because I don’t know how possible that would be, but something definitely
starts to change in him, at a cellular level,” offers Dan Goldberg, Todd
Phillips’ long-time producing partner.
“This allowed us to mine comedy from
the deeper aspects of the characters,” Goldberg continues. “We couldn’t rely on
the same things that worked before, either in character or story. Alan has
given us a lot of laughs, and this movie is no exception, but there comes a
time when you think, he can’t go on like this. What if he was your friend? One
element that comes across so well in these movies is that no matter how insane
things get, the friendship feels real. You believe these guys truly care about
each other. So the question eventually becomes, how could they allow one of
their own to continue on such a self-destructive path?”
A
presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures.
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