A Winning Pair

What Happens in Vegas...

Release: 05.09.2008
Rated PG-13
1 hour, 39 minutes

Matinee ($$$)


Jack and Joy went to Vegas to forget their crappy lives.
Jack got drunk. So did Joy. They awoke as husband and wife.
Like oil and water they part, but then Jack and Joy win big.
Now they're stuck like glue in wedded bliss or 'til one reneges.
Pesky pranks and wacky friends make Jack and Joy so much fun.
Will they commit to life as one or split the cash and run?

Enough with the grade school rhyming! Let's get the skinny on What Happens in Vegas. Billed as Cameron Vs. Ashton a.k.a. Joy Vs. Jack, Vegas begins as a contest to see which actor can out-ham the other. Hand to the heavens, there's even a moment during this battle of the sexes when Ashton winks at the audience. Folks going to see this film aren't expecting exceptionally moving performances; they just want to be entertained through the lowbrow series of gags.

Laugh you shall, due in large part to Jack's friend Hater (Rob Corddry, Semi-Pro). This was a complete 180 from his over-the-top performance in Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Dennis Farina (Get Shorty), Michelle Krusiec (Saving Face), Jason Sudeikis (Semi-Pro) and even Treat Williams (1941) complete the list of talented and funny supporting cast members who sorely needed more screen time.

Vegas is a series of witty, cutting remarks and mean-spirited pranks that almost completely avoids delving into crude bathroom humor to dredge up a laugh. It's an inoffensive shuck and jive, like watching a television comedy sans the laugh track. Not surprising since director Tom Vaughan seems to have done more TV than films.

Dirty Undies
In the Cameron vs. Ashton battle, the winner in the arena of hotness is...Ashton. Cameron had a glistening sheen on her face for much of the film; she looked like a well-worn saddle that had been slathered with oil to prevent cracking. She did have a few F'n Hot moments, but against Ashton's pretty-boy charms and shirtless self it's no contest. Corddry plays the friend you won't claim as he inflicts both physical and oral damage with his uncouth schemes and vulgar ways.

The Money Shot
Technically speaking, What Happens in Vegas... is mostly a mess. If you're interested in this type of flick, it's because you're looking to laugh, not to critique the greatest piece of cinema ever written. Much like the city, Vegas promises cheap, shallow thrills and pays out.