7 Days to Vegas

If this was actually presented as a reality show it would be a total disaster. But it is fiction "based on presumed real things some people might actually do" so for that it was at least fun to laugh at. It must have been written by a committee of wannabe writers/producers. What is real is that the concept makes it fun. How many times can two sides run a scam on each other? Many times. It was the only reason to watch this contrived accident. 5 stars is being generous. The fake quips about "what happened after/where are they now" lost at least 3 of their stars.

This Van Patten family project is based on a true incident that happened to star Vincent Van Patten back in the 90s. He did actually make a bert he could walk from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 7 days. vince wrote the script allegedly based on some Hollywood characters he knew. They must have been some colorful bunch.

That's the strength of 7 Days To Vegas, the colorful characters that creator Vince Van Patten drew. The film is structured a whole lot like the Martin Scorsese classic Casino. As that is a real favorite of mine I couldn't help but like 7 Days To Vegas.

The villain of the piece is Ross McCall a full of himself director with a big bankroll who likes to take chances. He doesn't have even surface likability, but the money keeps people hanging on and he's a good gambler.

The climax belongs to brother James Van Patten. I won't say more, you have to see it to believe it.

This is one good enjoyable almost caper like film.

The Sting, this movie is not. But it definitely was a guilty pleasure if you enjoy films with a plot twists and "gotchas" at the end. Van Patten stars as the narrator and main character in this ensemble cast of degenerate, quirky gamblers. These characters distract viewers along the journey towards the somewhat predictable ending. But despite knowing the destination, I still had a good time.

I clearly enjoyed it more than the actual ratings show and when I read the other reviews I'm apparently not the only one. Based on a true story, which makes it even better, 7 Days To Vegas is an easy to watch entertaining movie. I wouldn't say it's as funny as The Hangover, like some other reviewer wrote, but it has some good funny moments as well. Gambling on about anything, some hustling and cheating, a good cast and a well written plot makes this movie worth watching.

I've wasted an hour and a half on worse things. It had potential. With better acting and writing this would have a shot. Decent premise.