The Telescope

Issue Date: 5/19/08

Kutcher should stick to producing after 'Vegas'

By Crystal Evans

Ashton Kutcher (left) and Cameron Diaz star in the film 'What Happens in Vegas...' about an accidental marriage after a drunken night.

"What Happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" is the usual motto but in the movie "What Happens in Vegas" Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher find out that the saying would more appropriately be coined "What happens in Vegas you pay for back home" when they wake up hitched with hangovers in this predictable, substandard comedy.

The storyline has potential, however poor writing, dismal acting and inferior cinematography made it another run of the mill movie that is not worth the price of admission.

The movie opens with Diaz, (who plays Joy McNally), an uptight woman who just got dumped, and Kutcher, (who plays Jack Fuller), a laidback man who just got fired by his father, heading to Vegas to forget their troubles.

Their first meeting occurs when Planet Hollywood accidently books them in the same room. Armed with a host of freebies from the hotel to make up for the mistake, they head out and take on Vegas, and drunkenly decide to get married.

In the morning they elect to get an annulment until Kutcher wins $3 million with Diaz' quarter and she takes him to court to fight for her share.

The court sentences them to marriage counseling, freezes the money and denies the divorce until they can prove they have done everything possible to save their marriage.

Despite the fact that the movie is classified as a comedy the movie failed to get more than a couple laughs from the audience. Instead of witty banter the script was filled with boring pointless insults and cheap shots at humor, such as Kutcher relieving himself in the sink filled with dishes when Diaz refuses to get out of the bathroom.

In addition the storyline was predictable and overdone; from the beginning there was no doubt that they would go through a series of mishaps before they would eventually fall in love. It was also completely devoid of any interesting twists and turns and felt awful similar to a host of other movies about couples who hate each other but eventually fall in love, "Just Married" which also starred Kutcher, being the first to come to mind.

And if the script was bad the casting did little to help. Diaz and Kutcher shared little if any chemistry onscreen and all of their interactions seemed forced and unnatural. Not only was no one fooled into believing that they actually fell in love at the end of the movie but they could not even pull off the contempt they had for one another at the beginning.

The cinematography was also substandard. In the majority of the scenes the lighting was harsh, the camera angles were boring and some shots were not even in focus. Not to mention the sequence where Diaz and Kutcher are partying is sure to leave every one with a headache.

To be fair diehard romantics that love chick flicks might actually enjoy the movie but everyone else should do themselves a favor and save the $12 and two hours of their lives and spend it on something worthwhile.

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