Top-Drawer Talent Gets Silly in Las Vegas
By Skip Sheffield
Old Guys Have Fun Too
On a much lighter note we have “Last Vegas,” which is a
silly situation comedy for the Social Security set, directed by Jon Turteltaub
(“National Treasure”).
In light of his current marital woes, this could be seen as
art imitating life for Michael Douglas, 69, now separated from his beautiful,
much younger wife Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Douglas plays Billy, an aging confirmed bachelor who is the
last of his Brooklyn gang to attempt a
commitment to marriage. Impulsively at his Malibu mansion, Billy proposes to his
girlfriend, who is less than half his age. This prompts his childhood friends
to throw a last bachelor party in Las
Vegas . This takes some doing, as Paddy (Robert De
Niro, 70) has hardly left is New York
apartment since his wife died.
Archie (Morgan Freeman, 76) lives as a virtual prisoner with
his protective son in New Jersey .
Sam (Kevin Kline, baby of the group at 66) has retired,
moved to Florida
with his wife and is bored out of his skull.
The best I can say of “Las
Vegas ” is that it is funnier than I thought it would
be. These guys are old pros after all, and though screenwriter Dan Fogelman’s
script is creaky with old-age clichés, the actors seem to be enjoying
themselves. The best thing about the film is Mary Steenburgen as Diana, a
retired accountant who has decided to reinvent herself as a night club singer.
Steenburgen, 60, is a wonderful advertisement for a woman aging gracefully- and
she’s a darn good singer too.
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