Film Review – Last Vegas
2 min read
With the ongoing comedic parade of middle aged people getting themselves into hilarious and often cringe worthy situations at the helm of a friends wedding; Bridesmaids, The Hangover, Bachelorette, the setting and proceedings for Last Vegas is formidably unoriginal, but what it achieves so differently from similar films of that genre is that the characters themselves are elderly, allowing for a fresher and less contrived outing.
Last Vegas attracts us like a show at The Mirage on the Vegas Strip with the acting talents of Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro and Kevin Kline, for which fortunately makes the some what redundant narrative and chain of events forgivable.
The sly and comedic timing that each actor brings to their character is the surprising element of Last Vegas. The variation of their situations, behaviours and relationships with each other is the commendable aspect of the story, surpassing expectations for what could have easily been a cash in, sordid affair.
Alas, it doesn’t take itself full swing from the get go, beginning awkwardly and vacant of laughs. Only when they begin their plans to fly to Vegas does the humour take flight, engrossing us with one end of the spectrum of crudeness, to the other end of elderly habits, topped off with an emotional bondage that keeps the characters together. And thankfully, does not desist in momentum until the closing credits.
Last Vegas does fumble in originality, but it does exceedingly well to coax the tiresome events with an array of fantastic characters with side splitting banter. With the talents of Freeman, DeNiro, Douglas and Kline, Last Vegas joyfully translates the cruel reality of age, finding the silver lining in what you can do with the time you have left. But without the remarkable talent involved, Last Vegas would easily be a trip worth only having once.
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