Movie · Comedy · 2009 · R

The Hangover: parents' guide

Name: The Hangover
Released: 2009

17+our pick

Best for ages 17 and up. Rated R for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material.

A wildly raunchy adult comedy best left for older teens at the earliest. Three groomsmen wake up in a wrecked Las Vegas suite with no memory of the night, a tiger in the bathroom and a missing groom, then retrace their steps. Nearly everything parents worry about is here: more than 70 f-words, full-frontal male nudity, a closing-credits slideshow with topless women and glimpses of sex acts, heavy drinking, and a blackout caused by a date-rape drug slipped into their shots. Violence is mostly slapstick. Age 17 reflects the nudity, constant crude humor and drug content.

What's in it

Violence

Moderate

Mostly slapstick: a naked man attacks the friends with a crowbar, Mike Tyson knocks one out, a tiger claws another, and kids zap them with a stun gun. A baby is bumped by a car door, and one man cuts his palm for a blood oath.

Language

Strong

Constant: one review counted more than 70 f-words and about two dozen s-words, plus 'retard' and an anti-gay slur used as insults, many crude anatomical terms, misuse of God's name and an obscene gesture.

Sex and nudity

Strong

Full-frontal male nudity, bare buttocks, and a stripper who bares a breast while nursing her baby. The end-credits photos show topless women and glimpses of sex acts and genitals. Many crude jokes about masturbation and oral sex.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Strong

Heavy drinking drives the plot, and one friend unknowingly spikes the shots with roofies, a date-rape drug, causing the blackout. Cocaine use appears in the credit photos, other drugs are mentioned, and characters vomit through the aftermath.

Scary or intense scenes

Mild

Little fear. A tiger in the hotel room, angry gangsters and a car chase create brief tension, all played for laughs.

Worth talking about

The whole plot hinges on someone secretly putting drugs in friends' drinks. Talk about why that is dangerous in real life and how friends can look out for each other.

Where to stream →

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Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, movieguide.org, bbfc.co.uk. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.