Last Vegas

Comedies, veteran cast--comedies, veteran cast. Now, why did I go see "Last Vegas"? Possibly a little of both, seeing as how much I like comedies, and the cast in this is killer. But nothing could have prepped me for what I eventually viewed. This was clearly a solid cast vs. questionable writing once again.

Sixty-something Billy (Michael Douglas), Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline) have been best friends since childhood. So when Billy, the group's sworn bachelor finally proposes to his thirty-something (of course) girlfriend, Lisa (Bre Blair), the four head to Las Vegas with a plan to stop acting their age and relive their glory days, especially after meeting an affable lounge singer, Diana (Mary Steenburgen). However, upon arriving, the four quickly realize that the decades have transformed Sin City and tested their friendship in ways they never imagined. The Rat Pack may have once played the Sands and Cirque du Soleil may now rule the Strip, but it's these four who are taking over Vegas.

Others to round out the cast are Jerry Ferrara as Dean, Romany Malco as Lonnie, Roger Bart as Maurice, Joanna Gleason as Miriam, Sam's wife, Michael Ealy as Ezra, Archie's son, April Billingsley as Maid of Honor, Stephen Scott Scarpulla as Danny the Greaser, Andrea Moore as Bachelorette, Noah Harden as Young Billy, RJ Fattori as Young Paddy, Aaron Bantum as Young Archie, Phillip Wampler as Young Sam, Olivia Stuck as Young Sophie, and Lisa Young as Blackjack Dealer.

This was adequately directed by Jon Turteltaub ("Instinct" '99, "The Kid" 2000, "More, Patience" (TV movie) '01, "National Treasure" '04, "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" '07, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" '10). These guys are consummate pros and one can just tell that Turteltaub let these guys take this material and go with it. Directing them had to be pure joy. Where this film gets a bit bogged down is with the writer, Dan Fogelman ("The 12th Man" (TV movie) '06, "Cars" '06, "Fred Claus" '07, "Lipshitz Saves the World" '07, "Bolt" '08, "Tangled" '10, "Cars 2" (Original story) '11, "Crazy,Stupid,Love" '11, "The Guilt Trip" '12). Believe me, it started out with wit, great banter, and and an interesting build-up, then about two-thirds the way through, it got silly, and adolescent in its content. Then as it was starting to come toward the ending, it picked up again, but unfortunately not enough time to fully save this story. One would think that with this iconic cast, anyone could have written this and it would have been great, but not even these seasoned pros could save this. It isn't a total wash--there were some very funny parts in this, but it would certainly be refreshing to see Hollywood produce a comedy that has a fun, intelligent wit that is lacking in so many of their screenplays.

If you like a great cast of guys just having the time of their life and are not really concerned about a polished script, then this is one film that will have you rollicking along with them.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                           Rated:PG-13                                105mins.