Forgive Me Father For I Have Sinned
When it comes to festive comedy at the expense of religion, no other comedy has really come close to dethroning Monty Python’s Life Of Brian. When The Last Hangover crept onto Netflix this weekend, it seemed destined to fail. How ironic then that this little Brazilian short film is one of the funniest parodies released in quite some time. While the subject matter is likely to offend those who hold their religion close to heart, The Last Hangover is a cleverly written comedy oozing charisma and wit. The story is relatively straight forward, playing on the same tropes inherent in The Hangover films. During The Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples end up drinking too much wine and pass out. When they awake in the morning, Jesus has gone, Judas has passed out on the table and there’s even a tiger in the bathroom for good measure. What follows is a recreation of the night’s events as Jesus’ disciples retrace their steps from the night before. Drugs, fights, magic and heavy drinking ensues leading to a really clever ending to the tale. Sometimes the best told stories have the simplest execution and when it comes to The Last Hangover this absolutely rings true. With a single set, a shoestring budget and an extremely simple premise, this Brazilian short puts the comedy at centre stage and it works perfectly. There’s a good range of comedy used here too, from satirical and parodical through to slapstick and clever wit. This variety in comedy helps set The Last Hangover apart from other parodies and props to the writers, they’ve done a wonderful job bringing this tricky subject to life. Seeing one of the disciples performing magic tricks, declaring he’s the son of God and gaining a big following, is one of the best scenes in the film and had me in laughing heartily during this sketch. The Last Hangover may only run for 44 minutes but what it packs in that short run time is a hefty comedic punch to the gut. Not bad for a simple parody that follows The Hangover plot. The characters are memorable, the comedy on point and the timeless tale of Jesus’ Last Supper recreated with a clever mix of wit and charisma. Props to Director Rodrigo Van Der Put, The Last Hangover is one of the funniest films of the year and well worth checking out.
