Comedy proves predictable despite Oscar-winning cast
Four lifelong friends all above the age of 60 reunite in Las Vegas for the bachelor party of the one friend who has never married. Billy (Michael Douglas) is a wealthy bachelor who decides to marry a woman half his age.
Paddy (Robert De Niro) is a recent widower who spends all his time living in his apartment in his bathrobe. Archie (Morgan Freeman) is a divorced grandfather living with his overprotective son because he recently had a small stroke and must take it easy. Sam (Kevin Kline) is a married man who loves his wife, but their relationship has lost its spark in the bedroom. His wife gives him permission to have sex in Vegas as long as she never hears about it.
When Billy suddenly tells Archie and Sam about his wedding and the trip to Vegas he has planned, they jump at the opportunity. Billy does not even call Paddy to tell him the news because they have a strained relationship, so the others get the scowling grump off his recliner by telling him Billy could not make it. Billy did not attend the funeral of Paddy’s wife for reasons that are revealed through the course of the film.
While in Vegas, the men meet a middle-aged lounge singer named Diana (Mary Steenburgen), who enchants them when she takes the stage. They all flirt with her, especially Paddy and Billy.
At this moment, one could stop the film and tell how the plot will play out. This character plans on doing this but ends up realizing he does not need to do it, and these characters will fight over this character and so on.
The film is directed by Jon Turteltaub (“The Kid” (2000), the “National Treasure” films) and written by Dan Fogelman (“Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “The Guilt Trip”). CBS films produced this mild comedy, and it is not surprising.
The film never rises above sitcom-level antics such as old men swearing and people being pushed into pools and jokes about urinating, napping and Viagra.
All of this is very predictable and kind of embarrassing for five Oscar winners (including Steenburgen), but their charm and chemistry push the film along nicely. It is very middle-of-the-road humor that amuses but rarely produces big belly laughs.
De Niro has been sleepwalking through his career in the last decade for the most part, and just his screen presence makes up for a lot when it comes to his performance. Kevin Kline has the best comic timing of the group and supplies the film with many of the best one-liners and quips.
“Last Vegas” will not become a comedy classic, but one could spend a worse evening or afternoon at the cinema. It is a perfectly acceptable romp, especially for older audience members who know the careers of the stars.
If De Niro punching his fists in the air in front of a mirror does not make the viewer recall another film of his, perhaps the viewer should see another film.