The Hangover + my mom-ness

Last weekend my sister kindly babysat for Liam so that Gabe and I could go out for a date! Woo, woo!

We went to see The Hangover, which had obviously been getting great reviews, and which seemed like the kind of movie where we could kind of check out from real life and laugh at the really absurd situations presented in this comedy.

And that's exactly what we did. We laughed a lot.

But you know me. I'm a mom. And there were a few things in the movie that I could not even muster a chuckle at, because I take things really literally and there are some things that I just don't think are funny.

I'm such a bummer.

If you've seen the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about if you read on. If you haven't, don't worry because I'm not going to spoil anything for you.

Everything I thought was unfunny was directly related to the baby that is found in a closet when the guys wake up at a luxury hotel with their hangover.

1. One of the characters moves the baby's arm to mimic the motions of ma$turbat!on. I don't think that ma$turbat!on is dirty or wrong, but I think it's inappropriate to expect adults to find humor in that.

2. They put the baby in the backseat of a car with no car seat, with a regular seat belt on. OBVIOUSLY I know this is not real but it's the idea. I take car seat safety very seriously and some idiot out there might think this is ok. I already know how relaxed some parents can be in real life in regards to their child's automotive safety and I could not see the humor in this situation. And then in the movie they get into a series of minor collisions while the baby's back there, unrestrained!!! Oh my word, I almost passed out. Not funny.

3. They left the baby in the car in the Vegas heat while they went into a chapel to find some more clues about their inebriated night. This is also a serious real-life issue. Babies die in hot cars, just like animals do. In the past couple years I have read several articles about parents who forget their child is in the car seat and they leave the car unattended for hours, or they have ignorantly, stupidly, knowingly left their kids in a hot car because it's easier than getting them in or out.

4. When they reunite the baby with his mom, she sees he's hungry and whips out her boob to breastfeed him, leaving the male characters slack-jawed at the sight of her full breast (which was shown on-screen). Now, I happily breastfed, and I am a full supporter of breastfeeding in general and of the idea that it is natural and should not be concealed away from society. BUT I have a problem with sexualizing breastfeeding, which is one of the big problems that breastfeeding moms face in public when they want to discreetly feed their babies through nursing garments and cover-ups. You wouldn't believe the kinds of things I have heard about people actually saying to nursing moms. If we as a society continue to portray women's breasts solely as tools of sex, breastfeeding will continue to be misunderstood and discouraged in public.

I know this was a comedy, and that pretty much every situation in the movie was unrealistic, but as a mom those four things were too real for me. I found them so unfunny. Gabe and I were the only ones in the theater who seemed to find them distasteful, and I felt like a bit of an old fogy until I reminded myself that my parenting experience so far and research is something I value, and it won't change my opinion.

The rest of the movie was really funny to me and I needed those laughs. It was absurd and it was hilarious and if you think my points won't bother you too much, by all means, go see The Hangover!

Also? Ed Helms playing a different character than Andy Bernard? Tee-hee. He's kind of cute. It made me feel less weird about that bewildering dream I had a couple weeks ago in which Jim Halpert and Andy Bernard were fighting over me.

Hmmm...