Guess the message is, be careful what you wish for ... in a bachelor party toast in Vegas.

Phil (Bradley Cooper) raises his glass to his three friends and says, "To a night the four of us will never forget."

They cannot remember but surely will never forget in "The Hangover," a comedy that gives away some of the best bits in the preview but saves enough surprises to make this one of the funniest movies of the year. Even for people who are not part of the target audience.

The movie, directed by Todd Phillips ("Old School") and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (the mediocre "Four Christmases"), shows us the aftermath of the bachelor party that brought the prospective groom, Doug (Justin Bartha), and three pals or soon-to-be-relatives to Vegas.

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'The Hangover'

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained

• Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis.
• Rating: for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material.
• Web site: http://hangovermovie.warnerbros.com/

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Phil is a school teacher, Stu (Ed Helms from "The Office") a dentist who lies to his "strong-willed" girlfriend about his true destination, and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) is the resident goofball who prompts Phil to ask if he's "all there mentally."

As it turns out, none of them are quite there mentally when they wake up on the floor of their $4,200-a-night suite at Caesars Palace with a live chicken, a tiger, a baby, a missing tooth for Stu, no groom in sight and a big honking hole in their memories.

Phil asks the natural question: "What the [expletive] happened last night?" In a device that sells the movie, the groomsmen start playing detective, searching for clues about their whereabouts so they can reconstruct the night, locate Doug and possibly get him to the wedding miles away in California.

I don't want to spoil the movie for you so I'll leave it at that, but "Hangover" could be Cooper's breakout performance. He is no stranger to television or movies, but he emerges as the leader of the pack here and the tan, scruffy look suits him.

Helms, who plays salesman Andy Bernard on "The Office," had an implant removed so he could pull off the missing tooth or "nerdy hillbilly" look, and stand-up comedian Galifianakis has a deft touch as flaky Alan, master of the non sequiturs. The only missing ingredient might be the Judd Apatow or Kevin Smith sweetness that leavens the raunchy recipe.

"The Hangover" is outrageous but occasionally hilarious, and you won't need me advising you to sit through the crazy (and really R-rated) credits. Some, but not all, answers come just when you've quit asking the questions.