ONE HARSH CRITIC: What Happens In Vegas...

What Happens In Vegas: A Review

To pee or not to pee...

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. As a man who drinks coffee by the pot, diet (thank God) soda by the six pack and the occasional water, urinating during movies is always an issue. And this issue has often guided my judgment on certain types of movies - mainly the one's I see on my wife's behalf. Just being honest...

So very often, you can't judge a romantic comedy on the usual scales. One can't really consider the story as they largely follow the same formula. Its hard to judge on the writing as its often cheesy and geared toward a very specific demographic. The style of the film is simply to "be" a film, so a critic must throw that out the window as well. Since I started my "ONE HARSH CRITIC" column almost two years ago, I've never lied, never pulled a punch and always - most importantly - called it like I see it. So for romantic comedies...

There's always that moment for me. I've got to go to the bathroom. Sometimes urgently, sometimes uncomfortably, and sometimes it reaches emergency status. But that's where a decision must be made. To pee or not to pee...

What Happens in Vegas is the predictable story of two unlikely one night lovers (Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher) who get married one very hazy night in Vegas. Just as they're trying to reconcile and agree on an annulment during what must be a ferocious hangover, they win a three million dollar jackpot on a slot machine. Now, as man and wife, the money technically belongs to both of them.

Judge Whopper (Dennis Miller) decides that conservative values must be reinstated on America and sentences them to try to work out the marriage for six months before either will be awarded the winnings. And comedy ensues...

The format is the same. They bicker they fight, they fall in love, they break up and...

This is one romantic comedy that got the comedy part right. There are many laugh out loud moments, while many of them can be spotted a mile away. A great supporting cast including Rob Coddry, Lake Bell and Zach Galifianakis really keeps the film moving and the audience laughing. In fact, I wish they played a bigger part in the film, giving more support to Kutcher and Diaz playing the same characters they always do.

In short... there's no surprises here. There are funny moments. Its well crafted but predictable. Its adequately acted, and the dialogue doesn't make stomachs turn. So when that moment in time came, I chose... not to pee.

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Josh Gloer, Movie Correspondent

You can find Josh's column One Harsh Critic, published every other Sunday. Tuesday, Wednesday... (who can tell?) night at http://oneharshcritic.gather.com/.

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