At first glance, the story sounds familiar. Four blokes head off to Las Vegas with the aim of having one almighty bachelor party weekend before one of them gets married.
But there’s one key difference—these blokes have been friends for 58 years, making them, well… old. And their shared past provides both comedy and heart-warming pathos, in a thoroughly entertaining tale.
When the wealthy Billy (Michael Douglas) decides to propose to his much younger bride at a funeral (classy!), it’s decided that a bachelor party is a must, but getting his getting-on-in-age friends to Vegas, and away from the (clutches of) their well-meaning children and wives, presents just the first hurdle.
Archie (Morgan Freeman) fakes attendance at a church camp to sneak away from his overprotective son. Sam (Kevin Kline) is packed off by his wife with a hall pass and a condom, and after some mild resistance; and Paddy (Robert De Niro) decides he can spend at least one weekend out of his dressing robe (having spent the past year in it while grieving the loss of his beloved wife).
The three meet up with the groom-to-be in Vegas, but it’s not all drinks and scantily clad women. First, there are some long-buried fractures and tensions in the group that need to be resolved. And, with a new woman (a seductive lounge singer played by Mary Steenburgen) getting more than one of the boy’s attentions, the possibility for an all-out war is certainly possible.
Last Vegas could be easily dismissed as a geriatric Hangover film, but it shouldn’t. While much of the comedy stems from the limits of age setting in—amidst the determination to party, woo women and remain valid—there is also a lot of heart in this film.
De Niro and Freeman are excellent at showing they’ve still got it—De Niro parodies his tough guy image, and Freeman shows that age can’t dull his sense of style or rhythm. While Kline and Douglas are good, their characters confine them to scripting that left us wanting a little more (especially from Kline, whose past comedic offerings have been superb).
Last Vegas is the perfect film to take your mum to. It’s funny, warm and even a touch romantic (in a pure bro-mance kinda way). Perfect to lift your spirits, and remind us all that we are only as old as we feel (and or behave).
It’s also a rare opportunity to see, and enjoy, such fine gentlemen acting together.
Directed by: Jon Turtletaub
Starring: Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline
Rating: PG
Runtime: 105mins
Release Date: TBC
Reviewer rating: 3.5/5