Weekly Review -- Bliss(less)

What Happens in Vegas (2008) -- A bit of a twist on the standard romantic comedy genre, this acerbic comedy is a fun enough film for one viewing, but offers a forgettable experience overall. Career girl Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) has just been dumped by her fiancé, while part-time slacker Jack Fuller (Ashton Kutcher) has just lost his job. Following a random encounter in Vegas, they manage to win three million dollars on a slot machine... then split it and go their separate ways, right? Wrong, since somewhere between their arrival and winning the riches, Joy and Jack have succumbed to a drunk-dial impulse and got married, a tiny fact they did not recall until after they have won. After their attempt at a quickie divorce, the traditionally oriented judge (Dennis Miller) sentences them to six months of marriage instead. If they can make it work, they keep the money; if one of them ends the affair, the other one gets the winnings. Of course, each party decides to forcefully make the other one end the marriage, and hijinks ensue. The movie does well when it sticks to its principal story, but falls flat when relying too much on crude humor instead of the leads' chemistry, of which there is plenty. Diaz and Ashton are playfully vibrant and adept at physical comedy; sparks fly between them during assorted scenes teeming with nastiness, spite and innumerable childish actions, and it is their genuine rapport that makes the movie watchable. However, they do not have much room to move, due to the screenwriters' propensity to cram as many clichés and tasteless jokes into the proceedings as humanly possible. The supporting players are mostly wasted, as well, due to sloppy writing and stereotypical characters -- the supportive best girlfriend, clueless best friend and ultra competitive co-worker are all characters we have seen before. What Happens in Vegas could have gone the route of being a unique social commentary on greed and relationships, but, rather than explore its interesting surface ideas, the film gets stuck in pie-throwing, knee-slapping mode, having only the charm of its leads to pull it through.

5/10