Last Vegas

"The love of our private friends is the only preparatory exercise for the love of all men." John Henry Cardinal Newman

Last Vegas is promoted by some as a geriatric Hangover; it's not quite. It's rather a sometimes poignant if lighthearted comedy about friendship and love with a dash of philosophizing about growing old. Three sixty- something buddies have a bachelor party in Las Vegas for their equally aging buddy who is marrying a babe over half his age.

The usual bachelor party tropes are there: swimming pools, buxom girls, extravagant digs, gambling, drunken partying, and pappy love, among others. But lacing through this usually freewheeling, adolescent humored romp of a cliché are some thoughts about their 60 years of friendship and what it brings and demands.

Most importantly is the rivalry between Billy (Michael Douglas) and Paddy (Robert De Niro) over the girl who got away from Billy and married Paddy. How her death affects their friendship is touching if not overly sentimental but real as it continues to color their lives to this day. How it shapes the weekend and Billy's marriage takes the film beyond Hangover and Bridesmaids.

Absent are scatological humor or retching; those staples of current buddy comedies are not in the least missed. Each other friend has his issue as well: Sam (Kevin Kline) his true love for his wife, who gives him Viagra and a condom for the trip; and Archie (Morgan Freeman) his over solicitous son. Director John Turteltaub and writer Dan Fogelman treat the hang-ups with gentleness, never extending to slapstick the important challenge of each life brought into relief by the trip.

Last Vegas is a diverting enjoyment, most of which is watching highly successful actors as if they've worked together forever, when in fact they never did. Movie magic and friendship themes make this a comfort film among too much glitz on other screens.

Without being nasty or vulgar, LAST VEGAS is humorous and heartfelt. This movie celebrates friendship, especially among four friends who have known each other for more than 50 years. The camaraderie exhibited by these stars is enviable as well as appreciated. They have enjoyed much and suffered much in their lives, apart and together. The movie doesn't dwell on the negative, but it does unfold at a comfortable pace. The actors are perfect for their roles, and each relishes the part he plays. The supporting actors are able to enjoy their time on screen, whether it is for five or fifty minutes. This movie is about family, too, and grown children might understand their parents better seeing this film with or without them.

This is definitely a movie for mature audiences - children will not understand some of the jokes, and parents will become red faced explaining them. In fact, children will probably want to avoid this movie at all costs. Young people from 18 to 30 may not appreciate the depth of the friendships exhibited by these four friends, and they may misunderstand the difficulty of these "old folks" performing some of the day to day antics that they take for granted: dancing, drinking, picking up women. Getting old is neither easy nor fun, but it beats the alternative!

Some may refer to this as HANGOVER on Viagra. I prefer to think of it as "HOW TO ENJOY OLD AGE WITH A BANG." Or maybe it's a first - not last - hurrah to be repeated annually by anyone over 60.

Can we stand another bachelor party going to las vegas?? This one has some of the biggest names in hollywood. Douglas, deniro, steenburgen, freeman, kline, huffman. So now we know the gag...it's a whole lot of viagra and broken hip jokes. Because they are older. And it all starts when billy proposes to his girlfriend. At a funeral. And of course, the girl friend is a hot young thing. When they hear diana sing in a bar, it changes all their lives. And they keep showing or saying the name of one casino... must be product placement. Good to see this group of great actors, acting in a film together. The story itself isn't that big a deal. But it's still pretty good. Some funny lines here and there. Directed by jon turtletaub. Written by dan fogelman. He's probably better known for writing cars and cars 2.

I went to see this film the second day after release and i wasn't sure if it would be decent... but it was hilarious! It is The Hangover old people's edition with lots of old age jokes that kept me and the whole cinema laughing all the way through!

I can see why Robert De Niro and Morgan Freeman accepted this film because they were brilliant! I had no idea Freeman could play a funny role and Robert De Niro surprised me too with his great role!

I feel all ages will love this as it is clearly meant for everybody to watch. The only problem I found with it was that it had one of those cheesy childhood plots where they link it with when they are older ruined it slightly for me but it had to have some form of a plot so i didn't mind at all.

I got the chance to pre-screen Last Vegas. I had to practically drag my boyfriend to the movie theater because he said he was not interested in seeing the movie but the tickets were free so he eventually caved.

The movie is what a movie should be, entertaining. Morgan, Kevin, Robert and Michael were so refreshing and funny together, they really played off of each other well and because of that the film moved along at a great pace. I hate when movies drag on and fall flat in the middle and that's when I start checking my watch to see how much longer the film is going to trudge along. Sometimes movies seem to stall in the middle and the drag on but this movie is almost two hours long and it moved along so seamlessly that the time just flew by.

This isn't a movie that's going to win any Academy Awards, it's not Shakespeare nor will it solve some huge social problem, it's just good fun that everyone in the audience enjoyed. If you are looking to just go to a movie for pure enjoyment and forget about the outside world for a moment, go see this movie, you won't be disappointed.