Poster Analysis - The Hangover

The background and main theme of the poster with the gold bright lights and the lit up film title appear to represent the highs of being drunk. The bright colours of reds and golds are warm happy colours making their setting appear happy and exciting. However the colours of their clothes (dull) and the contradictory main image of the characters seems to represent the aftermath. The consequences and anti-climax of the events of the previous night are shown by the loss of a tooth of one of the characters and their general shabby appearance. The picture is presented photographically making it seem as if it could have happened in real life.

The messages of the poster are primarily visual and simply suggest that the plot sees the characters going through rough situations.

The strap line 'SOME GUYS JUST CANT HANDLE VEGAS' links with the picture and suggests to the audience that the film is comedy. This tells the audience the location of the film without having to include it in the main picture, Vegas is a popular location for comedy films so is well established within the genre. Conventions such as the location, wear and tear of the characters and implied comical personalities of the main characters are all addressed and represented in this poster.

The intended target audience of this poster is likely to be young people and those of a similar age to the main characters so they can relate the character’s mishaps to things that have happened in their own lives.

The poster promises an escape from the real world and the ability to relate to the main characters. Attention is gained by humour in the appearance of the poster and the tag line uses humour to link in with the general look of the poster and the genre.

'FEEL IT JUNE 5TH' speaks to the target audience (15-25) engaging them by using their lingo. The main text is in capitals and arranged in size according to importance. This draws the audience’s attention to the text in order of hierarchy.

The commercial expressions on the faces of the characters are typical of films from the comedy genre it suggests trouble and conflict from a comedy perspective.

The poster features a strap line at the top which tells the audience another film from the same director. This will reach out to fans of the film 'Old School', suggesting that if they enjoyed that film they would like the film in question as well.

This poster does not feature the names of the main actors suggesting that they are not a major selling point of the film (however this film may be the launch of their careers).
The institution company is not featured on the poster showing that it is not a main selling point of the film.