lastvegasFour Musketeers
 
Las Vegas
Stars: Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen and Michael Ealy
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Scriptwriter: Dan Fogelman
Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
Good Universe/CBS Films
Rating: PG 13
Running Length: 105 minutes
 
When you get four name performers in the same film, there better be a reason for it. One would hope for drama, but that went by the wayside here for levity, body function jokes and the city of Las Vegas getting another tourist boost. Dan Fogelman’s script has Billy (Michael Douglas), Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline), as childhood friends who, edging toward elderly, are still friends. I suspect because of the locale and stars, this film has a built-in theater audience.
 
The story begins when the guys are pre-teen and Paddy protects Billy saying only their group can call each other names. Then, we are in the present. Billy is engaged to a beautiful woman half his age, Paddy (crotchety) mourns the loss of his wife, Sophie, Archie (twice divorced) has had a stroke and is smothered with attention by his son, Ezra (Michael Ealy) and Sam and his wife, are still affectionate. The group hears about Billy’s engagement and a decision is made to throw him a bachelor party in Las Vegas. Eventually, they fly there with Paddy and Archie complaining. Finding a room is another thing and through adventures of losing money and then getting money and pretending to be mobsters, they get a good room, meet a singer their age (Mary Steenburgen) and start to get their personal problems with each other straightened out, one being that Paddy and Billy haven't spoken to each other in years. The humor is definitely adult.
 
With recognizable stars, the rest of the cast tends to be in the background most of the time, but you can see Jerry Ferrara (“Entourage,”) Redfoo and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. The stars play off each other well with good timing, but it is Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline who you begin to notice. Their “softer touch” stands out amidst the louder actors.
 
The script gives us a look at unresolved issues which persisted for years, children’s attitudes toward aging parents, love can be passionate in later years and the friendship of youth still exists when one ages. That said, the film could have had less “adult humor” and more moments of clarity. One gets tired of getting old jokes and would like to know, for example, why Billy instantly liked Diana, the singer? What was it about Paddy’s late wife he loved her for? What keeps Sam’s marriage going? 
 
All in all, the four stars (and who knows, there may be a sequel), give Las Vegas a win. Who could have guessed?
 
2tocks
 
Copyright 2013 Marie Asner
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