KEY POINTS:
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Rob Corddry, Lake Bell, Queen Latifah
Director: Tom Vaughan
Running Time: 95 mins
Rating: M (Contains offensive language and sexual references)
Screening: Hoyts, SkyCity, Berkeley Cinemas
Rating: * * *
Verdict: Blustery battle of the sexes that misses the mark but provides a few laughs
If you're the kind of guy that normally prefers to watch paint dry rather than be dragged along to a romantic comedy, then you might want to reschedule your DIY activities for What Happens In Vegas.
This isn't a typical sweet and sugary yawn-inducing love story, this is more a bitch-slapping battle of the sexes aimed as much at guys as girls.
Precisely how much you'll enjoy this far-fetched tale will depend on the extent you like its stars, Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. You'll find it easier to swallow their simplistic and slapstick performances if you're a fan.
Kutcher is Jack Fuller, a laid-back, fun-loving cabinetmaker who refuses to take life seriously. Cameron Diaz is Joy McNally, an overly organised, perky and ambitious sharebroker who works on Wall St. The two meet in Las Vegas when they are mistakenly put in the same hotel room and end up, reluctantly, hitting the town together.
Along with Jack's best mate Hater (Rob Corddry) and Joy's best friend Tripper (Lake Bell), they commiserate over Jack being fired from his job (his boss was also his father) and Joy's being dumped by her fiance. After a wild night, Jack and Joy are horrified to wake up and discover they have done a Britney and got hitched.
As they discuss a divorce over breakfast, Jack hits the jackpot with Joy's quarter, and wins$3 million. Once back home in New York the two promptly head to court for a divorce and settlement on their newly acquired winnings, only to come up against a judge who is tired of marriage not being taken seriously. Freezing the money, the judge orders Jack and Joy to live together and attend marriage counselling for six months before he will grant a divorce.
And so begins the fun, and the battle to undermine each other and get their hands on the cash. The scenarios are fun and far-fetched and while just as many gags fall flat as get a sneaky laugh, Kutcher and Diaz look like they're having a blast in this light-hearted modern day War of the Roses.
While Jack and Joy are doing their best to convince us they hate each other, they become less and less real and likeable, and are saved only by a little humanity creeping into the story near the end of the film. While this is the point at which boys will go back to yawning and the rest of us finally care a little about what happens to these two fruit-loops, it's just a little too late.
