Last Vegas

There’s no school like old school. Sure, people usually flock to the movie theaters whenever a new comedy starring Ben Stiller or Seth Rogen comes out, but there is still plenty of room for the guys who were getting laughs on screen before those guys were even born. “Last Vegas” starring Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline, Michael Douglas and Morgan Freeman opens today, November 1 and it is a comedy everyone can enjoy, young and old.

Billy (Douglas), Patty (De Niro), Archie (Freeman) and Sam (Kline) have been friends since the 1950s who dubbed themselves The Flatbush Four back in the day. Flash forward to the present where life long bachelor Billy is finally going to tie the knot. His friends want to hold a bachelor party for him in Las Vegas. What kind of trouble can these four men get into over the weekend? A lot more than you’d expect.

 

You might believe the comedy in “Last Vegas” to appeal only to an older crowd, especially here in South Florida, but people of all ages will have plenty to laugh at in this movie. You don’t always need gross out humor to get a laugh, but don’t interpret that to mean all the jokes here are clean. These are four veteran actors who have plenty of experience in the field of comedy, Kevin Kline even won an Oscar for his brilliant comedic performance in “A Fish Called Wanda”. You instantly like all of the characters and while the fish out of water aspect of these four older guys running around the City of Sin may be a bit played, you still enjoy their journey.

Writer Dan Fogelman has had plenty of success writing comedies in the past with well rounded characters. Some of his other works include “Crazy, Stupid, Love”, “Tangled” and “Fred Claus”. Jon Turteltaub’s direction keeps the movie flowing well and he easily manages to balance the story between his four main characters. Not as easy a feat as it might appear.

The men fight amongst one another, but as they tell other characters, “No one calls us names, but us!” There are some sweet, sentimental moments, but it never over does it to the point where you start rolling your eyes. The movie has a great message about friendship and it has you feeling good as your leave the theater. It is rated PG-13 on appeal for sexual content and language.