Last Vegas has had a rough start since it premiered in theaters. Many are comparing Last Vegas with The Hangover movies, which may not be a good thing for a variety of reasons. The original Hangover was funny and crude. This one may be just crude. Still, you shouldn’t expect a wholesome movie set in Vegas to begin with.

The film is directed by Jon Turteltaub, who is known for National Treasure movies. Dan Fogelman wrote the script — he is known for writing the TV show The Neighbors and movies like The Guilt Trip and Crazy, Stupid, Love. It features a stellar cast including Michael Douglas (Behind the Candelabra, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps), Robert De Niro (The Family, Silver Linings Playbook), Morgan Freeman (Now You See Me, Olympus Has Fallen), Kevin Kline (No Strings Attached, The Extra Man) and Mary Steenburgen (The Help, The Proposal). But are they enough to save this movie?

In the story, Billy (Douglas), Paddy (De Niro), Archie (Freeman) and Sam (Kline), better known as The Flatbush Four, decide to celebrate Billy’s announcement of marriage by going to Las Vegas (where else?) as a bachelor party for the senior set. At age 70, Billy is finally taking that walk down the aisle with a woman half his age. 

Paddy, a widower having lost his wife a year earlier, is still bitter that Billy did not attend the funeral. In fact, he wouldn’t be there if it were not for his other friends. 

Archie is a stroke survivor, but now has to contend with his son watching his every move. He tells his son that he is going on a church retreat to escape the house.

Finally, Sam is happily married, but apparently has lost some spark. Ironically, his “understanding” wife tells him to do whatever he needs to do to “bring back the old Sam.” She gently reminds him that “what goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas” and she doesn’t want to hear about it. Yikes.

The men arrive shocked to see that the Vegas they remember has changed, but that doesn’t deter them from having fun. While the four friends love each other, there is some tension between them. Secrets and hurt feelings come to the surface during the weekend. 

Sin City is not exactly the best place to mend fences, but with magic of Hollywood, they do. Anyone thinking that this film will be just harmless fun is only fooling themselves.

Even though they’re coming from an all-star cast of award-winning actors, the jokes about Viagra and adult diapers get pretty old really quickly. Crude talk, whether spoken by the young or the old, is never appealing. And what wife in her right mind would give her husband permission to cheat? Not the ideal movie for most believers and those who don’t take moral issues lightly.

The only real reason to see this movie is for the cast. Last Vegas is rated “PG-13” for sexual content and language. The running time is 105 minutes.

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