"What Happens in Vegas" Movie review

Written by Sean McBride

Sunday, 11 May 2008

You already know "What Happens in Vegas" “What Happens in Vegas 20th Century Fox Films Directed by Tom Vaughn Starring Cameron Diaz. Aston Kutchner, Rob Corddry, Lake Bell and Dennis Miller and Queen Latifah Rated PG-13   3 Stars         There's nothing particularly wrong, or right with the new romantic comedy, "What Happens in Vegas." Which means that while I can't recommend it as a must-see date night getaway, neither will I discourage audiences looking for a little bit of mindless rom-com fun. And given the likable nature of the film's two stars, this trip to "Vegas" coasts by on just enough charm to make it worth your time. I know, that's not much of a recommendation, but after last week's dismal failure, "Made of Honor," romance fans should be happy with even a middling success. Aston Kutchner and Cameron Diaz star as two New Yorkers who head off to Sin City in order to forget their troubles. She's been publicly and painfully dumped by her fiance, and he's been fired, by his father, no less. They meet cute, proceed to get drunk, and wake the next morning as a married couple. They both realize that the nuptials were a mistake and agree to an annulment. Not so fast. Aston plays Cameron's quarter in a slot machine and wins a three million dollar jackpot. Suddenly the annulment isn't nearly as important as the "equitable division of assets." Throw in a family values judge (Dennis Miller) who sentences the mismatched couple to six months of "hard marriage" and you have the makings of of a typical romantic comedy, where both of our leads try to sabotage the other, hoping that their unhappy partner will quit the marriage and thus relinquish their claim on the money. Wouldn't you know it, as this battle of the sexes heats up, career-gal Cameron and slacker-dude Aston realize that they might just be perfect for each other, but not before they do their best to make each others lives miserable. The story is all pretty much by the book, but I suspect that most people don't buy a ticket for a romantic comedy looking for cutting-edge comedy. There's nothing wrong with a familiar story and an inevitable happy ending, and given the charismatic nature of the two stars, "What Happens in Vegas" makes for an enjoyable journey through a story that you've seen a million times before. Rob Corddry and Lake Bell help things out as our romantic couple's snarky sidekicks. Corddry's slimy lawyer and Bell's angry-gurl sidekick are given plenty of opportunities to crack wise at the expense of our love-struck protagonists, and they give the film most of it's laugh-out-loud moments. Indeed, they come close to stealing the show until Diaz and Kutchner reassert their rom-com lead status. The rest of the comedy is grounded in the physical and gross-out gags that dominate the film's first hour. These gags are funny, but get in the way of the romantic thrust of the film. Would you rather see a film where two people try to make life miserable for each other before accidentally falling in in love, or watch while two people obviously meant for each other struggle with their own obstacles before giving in to the inevitable happy ending? The bottom line is that "What Happens in Vegas" may take a while to get to the romantic payoff, but Kutchner and Diaz are worth waiting for. Add in some funny supporting characters and a feel-good ending and the film turns out to be a real crowd-pleaser, despite it's by-the-numbers story. Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published Wednesdays and Fridays in “The Port Arthur News.” He can be found weekly on KAVU-TV, KFDM-TV, and KVIC Radio. Additional reviews can be found at www.rottentomatoes.com, www.panews.com or at HYPERLINK "http://www.seanthemovieguy.com/"www.myvictoriaonline.com. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@kavutv.com. -30-