When I first saw the trailer I thought “oh, another crappy, witless guy comedy.” Then a few months later, headlines started declaring Hangover “The surprise hit of the summer!” and everyone was praising its hilarity and overall awesomeness. Fans and critics alike kept raving and it seemed virtually everyone was urging me to go watch it.

And so I did.

And what the hell? Seriously, what exactly was the big deal? Where was all the rip-roaring fun people kept promising? What were the stand-out jokes? Where were the scene-stealing moments? Was it the tiger? Mike Tyson? The cute baby with the over-sized glasses? Zach Galifinakis?

Mind you, all those things were funny, but the movie itself doesn’t amount to anything more than buzz-driven mediocrity. It wasn’t great and it wasn’t terrible – it was just all right. I surveyed a few other people after I had seen the movie and they more or less expressed being similarly letdown - a consequence of misguided word of mouth.

Now, if you’re planning to see the movie because you’ve heard all the great things about it, be forewarned that it probably won’t live up to the expectations. But if you set the bar really low, to the level of absolute bull crap let’s say, then yes, you’re far more likely to be pleasantly entertained.

The bottom line: the hype is usually a lie.