I do enjoy romantic comedy movies even though many of them turn out to be very predictable. I was interested in seeing What Happens in Vegas as soon as I first saw a trailer for it. It probably was not expected to do well going up against Iron Man and Speed Racers, but the movie actually pulled in just over $20 million for the weekend, doing better that more hyped Speed Racer.

Joy McNally was a successful woman who planned out everything. She even planned to make other plans. She planned a surprise party for Mason, only to have him tell her that he didn’t want to marry her in front of all of their friends. Joy’s best friend Tipper convinced her that they should take the trip the Vegas that Joy had gotten Mason for his birthday. Jack Fuller enjoyed having fun and didn’t take anything seriously. He was fired by his own father. Jack and his best friend/lawyer Hater decide to go to Vegas where they meet Joy and Tipper when all four of them were booked into the same room thanks to computer problems.

Joy and Jack end up spending the evening together getting drunk. She was shocked the next morning when she discovered that they had gotten married. After talking, they both agreed to a divorce but that plan fell apart once one of them hit a three million dollar jackpot on a slot machine. Instead of granting the divorce, Judge Whopper sentenced them to live as husband and wife for six months and go to marriage counseling with Dr. Twitchell. Neither of them were happy with the situation, but they both wanted the money. They each did things to try to get the other to give up.

There wasn’t anything complicated about What Happens in Vegas. Two people got plastered, got married, one of them won a bunch of money that they both wanted so they had to deal with each other for six months instead of getting the fast divorce they wanted. Things were predictable, but the movie was still very entertaining and enjoyable. There were a few situations that worked out differently than I thought they would, so there were a few small surprises. This isn’t the first movie to have strangers end up married after a very short time, but the way things were handled after the marriage was a bit different. The judge saying that they had to stay married and go to marriage counseling did give the plot a different twist. Once the movie was actually over, there were a couple of short scenes that were entertaining.

What Happens in Vegas turned out to be pretty funny. The trailer did make it look like the movie would be funny, but trailers have been known to make many unfunny movies look funny. There was a bit of slapstick type of humor that worked well with what was going on. There really wasn’t any gross humor used, though there were some jokes related to the bathroom. There were a couple of off color jokes told at one point connected to the names of a few people. I think most of the funniest bits were in the trailer, but there were still some other very funny things that turned up. This was one of the funnier romantic comedies that I’ve seen in a while and I think it is worth watching.

The relationship between Joy and Jack was the main focus of What Happens in Vegas. They were very different people, but they did connect when they met. It did take a several drinks before Joy started to feel comfortable, but it was clear there was something between them. Even after they were back home wanting out of the marriage, there did still seem to be the attraction between them. They did have good chemistry, which made what was going on seem believable. There were a few sexual remarks but no actual sex scenes. Joy and Jack both did flash a lot of skin at different times. Joy was walking around in some fancy underwear at one point. Those few things were the closest the movie got to any nudity. The few minor sexual situations, as well as some language, caused the movie to be rated PG-13.

Joy was living a very structured, planned out life when Mason dumped her. She seemed to like to control things and planning was very important to her before she met Jack. She started to be more spontaneous by going on the trip to Vegas, though at first she intended to plan out everything there as well. Once she was living with Jack thanks to the order of the judge, her carefully ordered life was in chaos. She did seem to adjust fairly well, coming up with new ways to torment him while also working toward getting a big promotion at work. Cameron Diaz handled the part well and did make her seem like a believable person who had insecurities.

Jack was considered a bit of a failure in his family since he didn’t finish things and tended to goof off and have fun instead of work. He did have a more sensitive side as well that turned up a few times. Jack wasn’t a bad buy even though he did act irresponsible much of the time. That started to change as the movie progressed. I did like Ashton Kutcher in the part. Jack did seem to be a bit like an older version of Kelso, the part that Kutcher played on That 70's Show. Jack was smarter though.

Joy’s friend Tipper turned up frequently without much of anything being shared about her. She liked to party and was the total opposite of Joy, so at times I did wonder how the two had become friends. Tipper had a few extreme ideas for dealing with things, like what she wanted to do to Mason. Lake Bell was fine in the part. Hater was Jack’s friend and a really bad lawyer who didn’t seem to have any clients other than Jack. It did seem like there was something going on between him and Tipper at times, but that never really went anywhere. I don’t think I’ve seen Rob Corddy in any other parts. He did contribute to some of the funnier moments in the movie.

Jack’s parents and Joy’s boss and a few co-workers turned up in a couple of scenes without any of them being developed. Dennis Farina really didn’t have anything to do as Joy’s boss. Mason was around just enough to look like a jerk for how he dumped Joy. Queen Latifah didn’t get enough to do as Dr. Twitchell, the marriage counselor that Joy and Jack had to go see. Judge Whopper was only in two scenes, but he was important to the overall plot since he is the one that made Joy and Jack stay married. It would have been nice if Dennis Miller had more to do with the part.

Main Cast

Lake Bell - Tipper
Rob Corddy - Hater
Cameron Diaz - Joy
Dennis Farina - Banger
Ashton Kutcher - Jack
Queen Latifah - Dr. Twitchell
Dennis Miller - Judge Whopper

Tom Vaughn - Director

What Happens in Vegas was fun, entertaining romantic comedy that was very enjoyable. Certain things were predictable, but there were still a few other surprises.

Cameron Diaz Movie Reviews
In Her Shoes ~ Shrek ~ Shrek 2 ~ Shrek the Third ~



Recommended: Yes