Character Relationship Map: The Hangover

Characters

• Phil Wenneck (played by Bradley Cooper) — protagonist

  Responsible high school teacher who leads the frantic search for the missing groom.

• Stu Price (played by Ed Helms) — protagonist

  Anxious dentist who struggles with the chaotic consequences of the bachelor party.

• Alan Garner (played by Zach Galifianakis) — supporting

  Eccentric, socially awkward brother-in-law who inadvertently causes most of the chaos.

• Doug Billings (played by Justin Bartha) — supporting

  The groom who mysteriously disappears during his own Las Vegas bachelor party.

• Jade (played by Heather Graham) — supporting

  A Las Vegas stripper who accidentally marries Stu.

• Melissa (played by Rachael Harris) — supporting

  Friend of the group who appears in Vegas.

• Mike Tyson (played by Mike Tyson) — supporting

  Famous boxer who appears as himself in the Vegas adventure.

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Stu Price → Melissa (Romantic Toxic Girlfriend) — Stu endures Melissa's mistreatment until he gleefully breaks up with her at the wedding reception.

  Stu has a relationship with his abusive and unfaithful girlfriend Melissa.

• Stu Price → Jade (Romantic Accidental Bridegroom) — Stu drunkenly marries Jade and then agrees to meet her for a date the following week.

  At the chapel they learn that Stu married a call girl named Jade despite his relationship with Melissa.

• Alan Garner → Doug Billings (Family Future Brother-in-Law) — Alan is Doug's fiancée's brother, eager to bond with Doug before the wedding.

  Doug travels with Alan Garner, his childish future brother-in-law.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Phil Wenneck → Mike Tyson (Social Astonished Supplicant) — Phil sees the boxing legend as the unlikely key to reconstructing their lost night.

  Tyson shows Phil and the others security camera footage revealing their drunken behavior from the night before.

• Stu Price → Mike Tyson (Alliance Possession Returner) — Stu helps return Tyson's tiger safely, easing the group's dangerous encounter with the boxer.

  After Stu sedates the tiger, they load it into the Mercedes and drive to Tyson's mansion.

• Mike Tyson → Alan Garner (Conflict Knockout Confronter) — Alan previously stole the tiger from Tyson's home, triggering Tyson's violent confrontation.

  Mike Tyson knocks Alan unconscious and demands the return of his tiger.

• Phil Wenneck → Jade (Social Clue Seeker) — Phil interrogates and cooperates with Jade to unlock the mystery of the lost night.

  Phil and the others track down Jade, who is revealed to be the baby's mother.

• Jade → Alan Garner (Alliance Card-Counting Accomplice) — Jade provides crucial support while Alan racks up massive winnings to buy back Doug.

  Alan, with help from Stu and Jade, uses his knowledge of card counting to win $82,400 playing blackjack.

• Stu Price → Alan Garner (Alliance Reluctant Ally) — Stu and Alan cooperate out of necessity even as Alan's reckless choices keep causing disasters.

  Stu helps Alan win money at blackjack and keeps the group moving toward retrieving Doug.

• Phil Wenneck → Alan Garner (Alliance Search Teammate) — Phil grudgingly relies on Alan throughout the rescue mission despite Alan's erratic behavior.

  Phil, Stu, and Alan hunt for clues together from the hospital to the chapel and beyond.

• Phil Wenneck → Stu Price (Alliance Fellow Investigator) — Phil and Stu work as co-leaders of the search party while handling Doug's disappearance.

  Phil, Stu, and Alan awaken unable to remember the night and retrace their steps together.

• Stu Price → Doug Billings (Social Best Friend) — Stu joins the frantic search with his own chaotic problems, missing tooth and secret marriage.

  Doug Billings travels to Las Vegas with his best friends Stu Price and Phil Wenneck.

• Phil Wenneck → Doug Billings (Social Best Friend) — Phil is one of Doug's closest friends and takes the lead in hunting him down after the blackout.

  Doug Billings travels to Las Vegas with his best friends Phil Wenneck, a teacher, and Stu Price.

Story Analysis

Four friends lose the groom during a blacked-out Las Vegas bachelor party and must reconstruct the night to make it back for the wedding.

Plot Progression

1. Going Out With a Roar — Doug, Phil, Stu, and Alan drive to Las Vegas, book a suite at Caesars Palace, and celebrate Doug's final days as a bachelor on the rooftop with Jagermeister.
2. The Longest Morning After — Phil, Stu, and Alan snap awake with no memories, a tiger, a baby, a missing tooth, and a missing groom. They follow clues through the hospital and chapel as their frantic search begins.
3. Hunting the Lost Night — The trio gets arrested, tasered, and ambushed while uncovering Jade's identity, Alan's drugging confession, and the naked man in their trunk. Mike Tyson drags them deeper into the absurd plot before r...
4. Chips, Ransom, Desert Betrayal — The gang threatens Doug's life unless $80,000 is returned. Alan, Stu, and Jade win big at blackjack, but the desert exchange delivers the wrong man, leaving the wedding in peril.
5. Miracle on Caesars Roof — A sudden clue sends the friends back to Caesars Palace, where they rescue Doug from the roof. They race home for the wedding, where Stu dumps Melissa and the crew reviews the photos of their lost nigh...