Sunday, May 11, 2008
A+E, Movies, Reviews

Don’t bet on ‘What Happens in Vegas’

 

To illustrate the importance of timing, “What Happens in Vegas” would seem a lot worse if it wasn’t opening a week after “Made of Honor.” Still, maybe it should have stayed in Vegas.

Cameron Diaz plays Joy, a woman so hyper she drives everyone around her crazy; her fiancé (Jason Sudeikis) can’t take any more and breaks up with her. At the other end of the spectrum is Jack (Ashton Kutcher), a slacker who can’t even keep a job with his own father (Treat Williams) and is “not serious boyfriend marriage material.”

Joy and Jack go to Las Vegas, she to forget and he to party. And of course, the hotel mistakenly books them in the same suite, so they can meet cute. Long story short, add a little liquor and next thing you know, the two wake up married. They quickly agree to call it quits, but then Jack hits a $3 million jackpot with Joy’s quarter. The two go to court to settle their community property, but the judge (Dennis Miller) sentences them to stay married for six more months, to try and make a go of it, before either of them sees any money. Of course, each tries to sabotage the other’s chances of getting the cash.

Knowing that Kutcher really likes older women adds some believability to his pairing with Diaz, but it can’t create chemistry that isn’t there. And that loud ticking sound Diaz hears is time running out on her ability to play the ingénue, even if she is only 35.

Dana Fox’s screenplay includes a few curveballs, and even if they don’t all go across the plate, they keep the film from lapsing into total predictability. 2.5 STARS—Steve Warren