Movie Review: What Happens In Vegas

New York is our starting off point for down on their luck Joy McNally and Jack Fuller. Mr. Fuller loses his job and Ms. McNally losers her man. Just like in Forgetting Sarah Marshall our hapless losers think a change of scenery will help them get over their losses; only here the mega watt gambling tables of Nevada substitute for the surf of Hawaii. Thanks to a truly wacky meeting this pair of misfits, along with two hearty side-kicks, come together, tie the knot and the rest is history. Well, not so fast.

Through a bit of luck the pair, now married, hit the jackpot and all of a sudden things come unglued. Money talks and love gets the shaft as the pair must go through with the quickie marriage and continue with the charade in order to collect the loot – or so it’s decided by a judge whose as wacky as this conniving couple.

Sure, we’ve all seen this loser plot before but the stars pull it off. Glamour girl Cameron Diaz (Charlie’s Angels) again turns in a daffy performance while boy toy Ashton Kutcher (The Guardian) uses his natural charisma and then some to show us why someone like Demi Moore fell for him. Whether you’ll fall for this movie debates largely on your ability to overlook lots of similar boy meets girl plots and if you can slide by the all too familiar setups.

Crazy characters put forth by the likes of Rob Corddry (Blades of Glory), Queen Latifah (Dreamgirls) , Dennis Farina (Get Shorty) and others add to the fun feeling of this film that is well paced by director Tom Vaughan (Starter For 10).