Comedies about older men cutting loose and reclaiming their youth almost always tread the horrible, familiar path of Viagra jokes and sentimentality. The Bucket List taught us that much. And yet, it's hard to completely turn a blind eye to Last Vegas, a comedy that appears to essentially be The Hangover for retirement-age men, but which has a cast jammed with men you'd looked up to for so long that you'll show up dutifully in the theater just because they tell you to.
Michael Douglas. Morgan Freeman. Robert De Niro. Kevin friggin Kline. And that's just the main cast. Among the supporting players are Mary Steenburgen (never forget how hilarious she was in Step Brothers), Romany Malco (never forget how hilarious he was in The 40 Year Old Virgin) and Jerry Ferrara (never forget… OK, he was just fine as Turtle on Entourage, whatever). The movie is directed by Jon Turteltaub, who last made The Sorcerer's Apprentice…. but he also made Cool Runnings! If you are the same age as the men in this movie you probably have no love for that one at all, but believe me, the Millennials are all about it.
OK, it's possible I'm reaching in an attempt to drum up affection for this movie, largely because it's been so long since Kevin Kline was in anything worth watching (sorry, Darling Companion and The Conspirator. Does the world need The Hangover for the AARP set? Hell no. Will an innate curiosity about seeing Gordon Gekko and Otto from A Fish Called Wanda get us into theaters anyway? Ugh, probably.
Last Vegas is due in theaters November 1, opening opposite Ender's Game. What will your pick be?
