last-vegasby Chrysa Smith

Nothing says giving thanks or demonstrates the conservative pilgrim lifestyle like a trip to Las Vegas. Yes, it’s counter-intuitive. But maybe you’ve had enough of  the turkey drippings and coffee grinds, and taking a virtual trip, even to the local movie theater, sounds like music to your ears. If so, head on down to see Last Vegas–a pseudo spoof on The Hangover films, only with a slightly more mature all-star cast and better subliminal messages—–all sure to bring a smile to your face.

Last Vegas tells the story of four childhood friends from Brooklyn, reunited later in years when the one perennial bachelor (Michael Douglas) finally decides to tie the knot. Kevin Kline is friend number 1—the guy with the stale marriage, just dying to get a hall pass, so he can go out and paint the town red. Morgan Freeman is friend number 2–now living with overbearing, ‘helicopter’ children, his freedom has been limited by caring family. Friend number 3 is Robert DeNiro, the mourning widower whose life stayed frozen in time since his wife’s death. All have experienced some sort of loss, but once all four reunite in Vegas, relationships unravel, all hell breaks loose and each man ultimately finds himself and his future as a result of the adventure.

The antics are more ‘age appropriate.’ When any of the guys hears from another, the first question asked is ‘What is it? Prostate? Cancer?’ At a more mature age, I guess they’re not expecting great news. Taking meds and trying to keep up with the pace of the town catches up with them quickly. And soon they realize, but for Michael Douglas, what they are truly capable of and what is appropriate for their age. Douglas is set to wed a much younger woman. For most men, a dream come true, but when the guys befriend aging lounge singer, played by Mary Steenburgen, the guys find in her not only a friend and someone who ‘gets’ them, but Douglas gets swept off his feet by a woman closer to his age.

The laughs keep coming as I, for one, can relate to aging humor. I’ll leave the punch lines for your viewing pleasure and just leave you with an endorsement for a film that lets you believe anything is possible—-even love in Las Vegas. And I should know. That’s where I met my husband.