Take some of Hollywood’s greatest actors all in their twilight years and the storyline from The Hangover and you basically have Last Vegas, with a lot more tact and an evenly balanced dose of comedy and drama. A lot less risqué but I guess that’s what happens when you’re targeting the baby-boomer market.
Meet our gang of misfits, Billy (Michael Douglas), Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline). Lifelong friends since childhood, they are now all in their late sixties and feeling somewhat burdened by their lot in life, except for Billy who has finally proposed (awkwardly and ironically, at a funeral) to his girlfriend who is half his age. In order to dust off their cobwebs Sam and Archie offer to throw a buck’s party for Billy in Las Vegas so they can relive their glory days but convincing Paddy to join in could be a little tricky as there’s some unresolved tension between him and Billy which becomes a relevant plot point later on.
Cue the Las Vegas clichés of gambling, bikini contests and awkward old man dancing at a nightclub. Well that last bit isn’t so much a cliché, but the nightclub setting is. This wouldn’t be a Jon Turteltaub film though if there weren’t some heart-strings being tugged at, and this is delivered with some understated class by Mary Steenburgen’s lounge-singer Diana who ends up in a rather uncomfortable love triangle with Billy and Paddy. Things take an angsty overly-dramatic turn in the last quarter of the film when our two pack leaders have to decide what the right thing to do is, not just for themselves but for each other.
The one thing that comes to mind with this film is that it’s safe. There’s nothing too risqué or outrageous here, even though it’s set in Las Vegas. The jokes are well timed and evenly distributed, although on occasion a little predictable. I’d just be a little concerned that some might call it ageist to laugh at the jokes that are so blatantly written for baby boomers, making fun of their need for Viagra or confusion over transsexuals.
Though seeing Morgan Freeman dancing to Earth Wind & Fire’s “September” was a real highlight, uncomfortable awkward old man dancing be damned, it really was adorable. De Niro and Douglas seem to be portraying characters akin to elements of other characters they’ve been before, the former a grouchy and stubborn loner intent on being a party-pooper (Meet The Parents?), the latter a bit of a charming ladies’ man who is a little self-serving (Romancing The Stone?), both of their characters really are the centrepiece for the plot’s narrative. Freeman and Kline feel more like co-stars, providing the windbreak between the other pairing whenever their characters tension begins to rise. It’s an ensemble cast but it’s definitely done in pairs which is a shame as it never really feels like one in particular gets to shine.
The soundtrack is an interesting mix of contemporary tunes with a few classics thrown in to appease the baby boomers and those who have no idea who LMFAO or Redfoo (who also makes a cameo) are. I really do hope that it was Steenburgen singing those showtunes too.
The pacing kinda grinded to a bit of a slow lumber at the back half of the film mainly because that’s the drama heavy part of the plot. Overall though it’s a nice, safe, pleasant enough movie with good laughs. I’m just not sure whether it’s entirely necessary to see it on a big screen though.
Review Score: TWO STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Running Time: 105 minutes
Rated: M
Last Vegas opens nationally on Thursday, 6th February through Universal Pictures Australia
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