I think I’m one of the only people who doesn’t have any problems with director Jon Turteltaub. I love both of the National Treasure movies, unironically, and even thoroughly enjoyed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Unfortunately, that last one didn’t do so well for him so he’ll have to prove his salt on Last Vegas before Disney will give him the money to make National Treasure 3.
According to Variety, Turteltaub joined Vegas yesterday, a film about four 60-year-old+ gentlemen who go to Vegas and throw a bachelor party for the only single one in the group. If it sounds familiar, it’s because it’s pretty much the story from The Hangover but with old people. The age of the heroes could mean that the shenanigans they inevitably get into will be different than Hangover’s, but it wouldn’t be surprising if these old men got into similar (boring) situations made ‘funnier’ by their age.
The script comes from Dan Fogelman who gave us Fred Claus, Tangled, and most recently the Steve Carell/Ryan Gosling vehicle Crazy Stupid Love. While he hasn’t really written anything focusing on the elderly, he’s proven that he can at least juggle a cast, which will be important with four leads in Last Vegas.
It’s a little too early to condemn Vegas as a Hangover clone with old dudes, but if that how it turns out then CBS and Mandate are just setting Turteltaub up to fail, and that’s a shame since he has a great ability to make really fun movies. We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out.
