What Happens in Vegas... (2008)

O Masterpiece
O Excellent
O Good
X OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / June 17, 2008

I’ve often wondered why we enjoy watching movies where couples fight; I think it makes us feel better about our own relationship predicaments.

“What Happens in Vegas…” is one of those battle-of-the-sexes movies where it’s crystal clear to us that the feuding parties ultimately deserve each other. And it’s a good time, I guess … that is, if you have nothing else to do and “Family Guy” isn’t on TV.

Jack Fuller (Ashton Kutcher) is kind of a goof-off who can even manage to get fired by his own father. And Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) is Jack’s antithesis, driven and nitpicky, which may be why her fiancé breaks up with her. The two New Yorkers take their best friends with them to forget their sorrows in Las Vegas, where Jack and Joy meet, party it up, and get married. The next day, as they part ways, they win $3 million from a slot machine.

All the above is revealed in the trailer, which also shows us how they end up in court, trying to get the money, but the cash is frozen while they are “sentenced to six months hard marriage.” From this point on, it becomes a war movie: We watch as the two try to break each other. And unless you’ve never seen a movie before, you can probably guess where this goes.

But it’s surprisingly fun getting there. The highlight of “What Happens in Vegas…” is Joy’s best friend, Tipper (Lake Bell), whose disdain for Jack’s best friend, Hater (Rob Corddry), is legendary. So, we get hilarious lines from Tipper, like, “If I could make someone dead with my mind, it would be you.” Not bad. Obviously, the writer, Dana Fox, has been in a relationship before.

Directed by Tom Vaughan
Ashton Kutcher / Cameron Diaz / Lake Bell
Comedy 99 min.
MPAA: PG-13 (for some sexual and crude content, and language, including a drug reference)

U.S. Release Date: May 9, 2008
Copyright 2008: 292