Un compleanno da leoni

If the "The Hangover" and "Project X" were fused together to make one new film, the result would be "21 and Over." From the same writers of the Hangover, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, "21 and Over" is a film that taps into the college demographic by concentrating on some of the issues that affect a lot of students throughout the United States — binge drinking, beer pong games, sex and parties.

This comedy follows three best friends who have fallen out of touch since graduating from high school and transitioning into college. They try to meet up on important occasions, in this case Jeff Chang's (Justin Chon) birthday.

Jeff Chang is finally turning 21 and with that age his best friends, Casey (Skylar Astin) and Miller (Miles Teller), believe comes a new stage in Chang's life; one filled with alcohol and girls.

Chang is a straight-A student who is preparing for an upcoming interview to gain admittance to medical school. In addition to his med school interview, Chang has to worry about his strict father who expects him to follow his family's legacy in becoming a doctor.

For his 21st birthday, Casey and Miller surprise him and take him on a night out. Chang agrees to go out on the condition that they only go for a few drinks and then return home.

They start the night off with a round of drinks, but soon enough begin club hopping, drinking alcohol everywhere they go. The night takes an unexpected turn when Jeff Chang becomes unresponsive after overdrinking.

Following the same formula used in "The Hangover," "21 and Over" attempts to win audiences over by using a lot of crude humor including many physical jokes.

Miles Teller (Miller) takes most of the spotlight with his straightforward dialogue and comedic timing. Justin Chon (Jeff Chang) further pushes the comedy bar with his use of physical humor. Skylar Astin (Casey) plays the typical preppy and awkward sidekick.

Even with a pleasant cast, the film fails to present anything original or creative. While it offers a few laughs, too many scenes are either lackluster, or exaggerated, and some of the humor is forced.

"The Hangover" was much more imaginative than "21 and Over," which has fewer plot twists and a rushed ending.

Even worse, the film reinforces all possible stereotypes including the smart Asian, the party alcoholic white male, crazy Latinas, and out of control college students.

The film is far from a masterpiece. However, if one day after a long day of class or work you simply want to have a few brainless laughs with friends, then "21 and Over" may be the movie for you.

For the record, The Hangover is one of my favourite comedies, and I walked out halfway through 21 and Over. The movie is full of jokes and gags that we've all seen before. The basic premise is simple: three college students go out for their friend's 21st birthday, and - shocker- the friend has to be back at his house for a med interview early the next morning. When he gets too drunk to find his house, the hilarity ensues (I wish). This movie could have been good, and I'm not expecting Oscar-worthy here, but instead it was a re-hash of movies we've all seen before. Now, I should also say that I didn't like Project X. However, since the writers from The Hangover were responsible for this movie I thought it would be a fun one to see. Afraid not. At least it was free. My recommendation? If you liked The Hangover, proceed with caution.

21 & Over (2013)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Friends Miller (Miles Teller) and Casey (Shylar Astin) show up to Jeff Chang's (Justin Chon) house to take him out for his 21st birthday. The only problem is that he has a major interview in the morning but they talk him into kicking back a few, which turns into a disastrous night with too much alcohol and too many problems. 21 & OVER is the latest comedy about teens drinking too much while trying to have a few laughs and of course looking to get some action. Overall this is a fairly decent comedy since there are plenty of laughs but there's no question that it falls well short of becoming a classic and it's probably going to be forgotten by the time the next film in the genre hits. I think a lot of the credit has to go to the three lead actors as all of them fit their roles nicely and I think they're entertaining enough to where we can spend 90-minutes with them without getting bored. The film starts off a bit slow but once the "issues" start to happen the film finally picks up. One such issue turns this into a WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S for drunks. Basically Chang passes out and his friends have to carry him around from one ___location to the next while trying to figure out where he lives. While all of the laughs don't work, I think a good number of them do. Obviously this is a R-rated comedy so we get a lot of dirty humor but this is where the film works its best. There's a hilarious scene at a prep rally, a good long-running joke dealing with a Mexican sorority house and of course there are the various subplots that the guys get into over their drunk friend. Where the film doesn't work as well is when it tries to turn a bit more serious and look at "growing up" issues. I think those issues would have been served much better in a film that wasn't about being drunk and dumb. Still, fans of the genre will get enough laughs out of the film to make it worth sitting through.

This film is about the first 24 hours of a straight A student's 21st birthday.

"21 & Over" is a toned down college version of "The Hangover". The plot is very similar to "The Hangover", and it is wearing thin. Though the parties are ridiculous and the alcohol is plentiful, we all know what will happen and hence the plot does not have the same entertaining effect as the first time around. Fortunately, the subplot of testing the strained friendship and standing up for oneself is a bit refreshing, so "21 & Over" sets itself as slightly different from its parent clone. The Asian female student who swears a lot is the most memorable character, and she deserves a special mention. Her one minute of screen time is so unexpectedly crazy! "21 & Over" is an average comedy, if judged on its own merit. But please, enough with the "The Hangover" clones.

"21 and Over" is like a 21st Century version of "Animal House" and "Porky's" - only this one comes with a bit of a social conscience, as befits the times we live in.

Miles Teller, Skylar Astin. and Justin Chon play buddies from childhood, now ending their time in college, who reunite to celebrate the 21st birthday of one of them, Jeff Chang (Chon). Astin's Casey is the stuffed shirt who's already on the fast track to a career on Wall Street after he graduates; Chon's Jeff is the stressed-out A-student whose dad is pressuring him to ace a med school interview the next day; and Teller's Miller is the Stiffler-type wise-ass who refuses to grow up, convinced that the only life worth living is one patterned after the "American Pie" movies.

Against their better judgment, Astin and Teller- take Chon out for a celebratory bender, resulting in what anyone with any knowledge of how these things customarily work out in the movies can plainly predict. Yet, beyond all the drinking, brawling, sex rituals and generalized pandemonium, "21 and Over" actually has some poignant things to say about friendship and finding that fine line between becoming a mature adult and selling out to a life devoid of fun and joy. Luckily, the screenplay by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (who also directed the film together) doesn't overdo it in the moralizing department, neatly balancing the insights with a steady stream of ultra-crass frat-boy hijinks. The movie even has some fun skewering the misogyny and sexual double standards that prevail among some of the male youth of today.

The movie is helped immeasurably by the performers who bring both humor and heart to the proceedings. They make the nonsense not only bearable but actually quite enjoyable at times.