Seen on: May 9, 2008

The players: Director: Tom Vaughan, Writer: Dana Fox, Cast: Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Rob Corddry, Lake Bell, Dennis Farina

Facts of interest: Tom Vaughan also directed last year's "Starter for 10."

The plot: Two strangers (Kutcher and Diaz) are forced to live together for six months after getting married in Las Vegas and winning $3 million. 

Our thoughts: Not the screwup everyone thought it would be, Tom Vaughan’s comedy “What Happens in Vegas” provides enough fun to keep Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz fans mildly entertained for 99 so-so minutes. The film obviously suffers from Dana Fox’s superficial script, but its lead actors bring enough chemistry to the screen to keep the party going at a relatively satisfying pace.

Although it’s not necessarily a good thing, the first 30 minutes are clearly the most enjoyable of the entire film. Jack Fuller (Kutcher) and Joy McNally (Diaz) don’t know each other yet, but they share a similar dilemma: Jack is fired from his job by his own father, and Joy unexpectedly gets dumped by her fiancé. Heartbroken and broke, they both decide to spend a few nights in Vegas to forget their misery and start over. And as fate would have it, they end up being checked into the same hotel room.

A couple of drinks and a wild night later, Jack and Joy wake up with a headache, discovering they’ve just gotten married. Under normal circumstances getting a divorce would be an easy option, but unfortunately for the new Mr. and Mrs. Fuller, one of them ends up winning $3 million after playing with the other’s quarter. Taking the matter to court doesn’t help either, because the judge freezes the money and sentences the two to six months of hard marriage. Let the war begin…

“Vegas” turned out to be better than its trailer suggested, but the film still falls into the category of easily forgettable comedies. There’s nothing new to discover in this little marital war between Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, and most of the humor is nothing but recycled Hollywood material cinemagoers get to watch over and over again these days. If it weren’t for the lead actors the flick would collapse early on, because the story line itself is as generic and predictable as it can get.

The film features a fair amount of ridiculous slapstick moments, but the rest of it is rather harmless and monotonous. Jack and Joy quickly realize they can speed up the whole divorce thing by playing dirty tricks on each other and luring each other into a trap, and that’s pretty much what the plot follows them doing for the entire second half of the flick. Of course, the only thing they do by being mean to each other is slowly recognizing they may just be right for each other. Too bad the audience figures that out even before the film kicks off.

As I mentioned before, Kutcher and Diaz work together well onscreen, and their performances are both refreshing. The script unfortunately supplies them with a horde of blatant lines, but the two make the best out of it. They bring far more energy to the table and are far more enjoyable to watch than, let’s say, Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. Rob Cordddry and Lake Bell serve as side characters portraying Jack and Joy’s friends, but they end up being incredibly annoying. Queen Latifah shows up as a marriage counselor, but her performance goes unnoticed.  

Freaky quote: “Did I invent hip-hop? No. But I was there.” – Rob Corddry

The final word: None of the jokes are particularly funny and big laughs are certainly scarce, but “What Happens in Vegas” remains enjoyable to watch throughout. Tom Vaughan’s direction doesn’t add anything special to the film, but Matt Friedman’s speedy editing attractively boosts the plot’s pace at least during the first half. Other than that, what it comes down to eventually is yet another empty Kutcher comedy that lacks heart and brain. Sure, the film is not as boring as initially expected, but good chemistry between lead actors is not enough for a comedy to succeed.