Last Vegas Review

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Starring:Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas
Written By: Dan Fogelman
Time: 105 Minutes
Release Date: 3rd January 2014

How is it possible that a movie about a stag do in Las Vegas can bring so much happiness, sentimentality and emotion to an audience? The key is bringing together four very deserving Oscar winners who manage to convince us that they are childhood friends who have been through everything together, in the past 60 years and are set to make one last stag do for the unmarried friend.

There is an underlying hostility between Paddy (Robert De Niro) and Billy (Michael Douglas) due to Billy's arrogance, shallowness and selfishness. Sam (Kevin Kline) and Archie (Morgan Freeman) serve as the somewhat infantile carefree friends, who are either caught between the row between their two alpha dog friends or trying to mend it. 

Each of the men live and represent a stereotypical aspect of 60 something pensioners. De Niro plays the grumpy one sitting in his flat in New York mourning his wife’s death. Sam has been taken to old man land in Florida where he lives a comfortable yet joy numbing life with his wife. Archie played by Morgan Freeman has had to deal with health scares resulting in him being in the care of his ridiculously hot son (Michael Ealy). And Michal Douglas fittingly portrays the fear of dying/fear of aging man who has a young arm candy by his side, penthouses around the world and a tan in the same shade of Snooki’s. 

Last Vegas is truly brilliant in its performances, comedy and has enough heart wrenching moments to make you cry at an old man comedy but it’s diminished by sleazy jokes, obsession with sex, and a stubbornness to creep over 20 something year old girls breasts and bums. All these aspects could have been left out to bum this movie from an ok comedy to a brilliant one.

There is something incredible about De Niro’s presence  in Last Vegas. Although there’s no denying his performances in the past, he has recently in Silver Linings Playbook and Last Vegas shown that he will forever be the focal point in any movie he’s in whether it be light-hearted or profound drama. 

Last Vegas will both move you and make you laugh thanks to its depiction of eternal love, friendship and the fear of age deciding your life rather than you deciding it for yourself.

Don’t forget to check out our feature on childhood friendships from films which have moved us here.

Basically:

We like: the great story, the jokes and the brilliant performances.

We disliked: the reliance on young women in bikinis and men drooling over them. Come on, you can do better than that!