"Last Vegas" Review

In 2009, a film called The Hangover opened in theaters and absolutely took the world by storm. There was no one reason that it was as mammoth of a success as it was, and given the star power and premise behind Last Vegas, there was no reason it couldn't work again. But in the process, the makers of the film seem to have forgotten to give it an edge.

Last Vegas is about four friends reuniting for the bachelor party of the last one of them to be married. However, two of them still have some bad blood between them that could ruin everyone elses party.

While there is a certain amount of comedy to be found in Last Vegas, the big laughs are far in between. And save for two scenes that stand out above the rest, there is nothing to really make you fall out of your seat with laughter. The trouble with the movie is that it plays it way too safe. There is no danger, no major conflict, not really much of anything that keeps you guessing. What worked about The Hangover is that it pushed the envelope. It went to places that some movies were just too afraid to go. There were scenes that you just could not believe. With Last Vegas, it more or less "disneyfied" that story into something extremely tame and rather predictable.

What got to me the most however, is the same problem that I had with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There were far too many jokes about how old the characters were. While it's understandable to want to have a little fun with that idea, at some point you just say to yourself "Ok, we get it. They're old, let's move on."

There certainly is no problem with the acting. These four legends certainly work their craft and try to make the most out of a subpar script. Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline make rather amusing oddballs, and Michael Douglas does his best "Gordon Gekko on holiday."

However, the brightest candle, and thus Andrew's Standout, would have to be the bold and blunt Robert De Niro. He stays true to the long standing tough guy persona he has spent his career molding. He is clearly enjoying himself, but never gets too goofy. Most of all, his performance has the most emotion out of the group, and certainly the most heart.

Overall, it's a PG-13 geriatric Hangover that's never quite as funny as it should be. I say save your money, go to a Redbox in a few months, and watch it in the comfort of your own home.

C