What Happens in Vegas [Blu-ray]

What Happens in Vegas [Blu-ray]
by Tom Vaughan

What Happens in Vegas [Blu-ray]

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Blu-ray details

Actor: Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz, Jason Sudeikis, Lake Bell, Rob Corddry
Director: Tom Vaughan
Brand: KUTCHER,ASHTON
Producer: Arnon Milchan
Producer: Dean Georgaris
Producer: Jimmy Miller
Producer: Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr.
Producer: Michael Aguilar
Producer: Shawn Levy
Writer: Dana Fox
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: Cantonese (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Korean (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2008-08-26
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Blu-ray Reviews of What Happens in Vegas [Blu-ray]

Blu-ray Review: In Sickness and in Wealth
Summary: 4 Stars

"What Happens in Vegas" is not an insightful or intelligent movie, but it actually works. It's a juvenile romantic comedy, perfect for those who like their love stories a little on the immature side. Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz play their roles like teenagers trapped in adult bodies, spending most of the film as spouses scheming to make each other's life a living hell. An uncredited Queen Latifah plays a marriage therapist who says the two were made for each other, despite having individual issues that need to be worked out. I immediately replayed the events of the film in my head and realized she was right; one is the other's emotional equal, and both will willingly do what it takes to make sure they come out on top. While none of this makes for a funny movie, and while the story is completely predictable, it was still interesting to watch these characters interact with one another.

The setup is as follows. Joy McNally (Diaz) is a career-minded, people-pleasing stock trader from Manhattan, and Jack Fuller (Kutcher) is a fun-loving furniture maker from Brooklyn; when the former is dumped by her fiancée and the latter is fired by his father, they both escape to Las Vegas. They conveniently meet each other, spend a night on the town, have far too much to drink, and wake up the next morning as husband and wife. They both intend to annul the marriage as soon as possible ... until Jack uses one of Joy's quarters on a slot machine and wins a $3,000,000 jackpot. Both feel entitled to the money, so naturally, they end up in court back home in New York. The judge (Dennis Miller), disgusted at their behavior, freezes the money and sentences them to "six months hard marriage" with weekly marriage counseling; if they can get through it civilly, the money will be equally divided among them. Since Joy has no place of her own, she has no choice but to move into Jack's disgusting bachelor pad.

Of course, both are determined to take their half of the money, just as both are determined to make each other miserable every step of the way. Joy purposely spends too much time in the bathroom, so Jack has the door removed. He removes the toilet lid so that she can fall in the next time she has to go. He pees into the kitchen sink when it's her turn to do the dishes. Things take an interesting turn when Jack's lawyer friend, nicknamed Hater (Rob Corddry), discovers a legal loophole: if Joy were unfaithful, Jack would be entitled to all $3,000,000. As fate would have it, Joy's best friend, Tipper (Lake Bell), also discovers the loophole. Joy immediately hires a group of sexy young women to throw a spur-of-the-moment party in Jack's apartment. Jack retaliates by seeking out her former fiancée, Mason (Jason Sudeikis), and making him jealous with news of her good new life.

At a certain point, Joy introduces herself to Jack's parents, and that where things finally start to get serious. His mother (Deirdre O'Connell) is pleasant enough, but his father (Treat Williams) is highly critical of everything Jack does, even when it comes to how he builds furniture. Despite having just met her, both think that Joy is a wonderful person, a perfect catch for their son. They like her so much that they invite her to a big family gathering, and it there that Jack and Joy actually begin to tolerate each other. By the time Jack becomes friends with Joy's obnoxious boss (Dennis Farina), they realize that they may even like each other. If you weren't expecting this to happen, then you haven't seen very many romantic comedies; no matter how unique the characters, the settings, or the tones, these kinds of films always follow a specific formula of Boy Gets Girl, Boy Loses Girl, Boy Gets Girl Back. "What Happens in Vegas" is no exception.

There is, however, a unique twist on the first part of that formula: boy gets girl completely by mistake, so he spends most of the film trying to lose her. But what really sets this movie apart from other romantic comedies is the overactive sense of humor, which had absolutely no effect on me. Maybe I'm too dense to see the humor in Tipper constantly wanting to punch men in the genitals or Hater using a drawing to give her the bird. Much like Jack and Joy, Hater and Tipper are made for each other, trading insults as if being paid by the letter. "If I could make someone dead with my mind," she says, "it would be you." "This is my lesbian sister," he says in front of a group of women. "Why don't you tell them about your softball team?"

And then there's Dennis Farina's character, whose name is Richard Banger. You know what the nickname for "Richard" is, don't you? Never mind--the point is that none of this adds very much to the film. I was more interested in how the relationship between Diaz and Kutcher developed, how they go from malicious to compassionate in a relatively short period of time. It's actually a fascinating thing to see, because once they get past their petty differences, the chemistry between them somewhat believable. Most of it is reserved for the last act, when Jack gets on Banger's good side so that Joy can finally be promoted. At that point, one of Jack's earlier lines hits home: "I'd rather be happy doing nothing than doing something I hate." I'm recommending "What Happens in Vegas" for the more interesting moments reflected in lines like that, moments that actually rise above the immature comedy and leave you feeling oddly satisfied. Everything else is just filler.

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Description of What Happens in Vegas [Blu-ray]

Genre: Comedy
Rating: UN
Release Date: 26-AUG-2008
Media Type: Blu-Ray

What Happens in Vegas is a comedy waiting to happen. It takes an old premise (drunk strangers regretting their decision to get married in Las Vegas) and adds in a dilemma (a $3 million slot machine win) that could've been easily resolved. But then again, there would've been no movie if the unhappily wedded couple figured out that splitting the money in half and getting their marriage annulled would've been quick and effective. Cameron Diaz plays uptight clean-freak Joy, who has just been dumped by her fiance. Ashton Kutcher is Jack, a slacker furniture maker who has been fired--by his own dad. Each goes to Vegas to let off some steam. And while they have nothing in common (except being exceptionally good looking) they make out, get married, and fight over the money Jack wins with Joy's quarter. Instead of letting the couple get divorced, a judge sentences the odd couple to half a year of marriage. What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, but extends into New York where Jack and Joy live. Both actors have fared well in comedies, especially Diaz in My Best Friend's Wedding. And while Kutcher still has to live down Dude, Where's My Car?, he showed a lot of comedic flair and charm in A Lot Like Love. But the two face an uphill battle here with inane dialogue and a premise that not only is unbelievable, but unlikeable. The two are so incompatible (and immature) they can't even control bathroom time and, in Jack's case, his bladder. --Jae-Ha Kim

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