What Do The Critics Say?

"This goofy charmer follows the standard romcom design, giving us two funny, neurotic people who are in love with each other but don't know it. But by being a smidge smarter than the average date movie, it makes the first-time meeting, the battle of the sexes and the bumpy course of true love entertaining despite overfamiliarity." Colin Covert STAR TRIBUNE "Romantic comedies are such a well worn endeavor that there's nothing much left to the imagination to explore, unless there's plenty of wit, bite and hot chemistry to keep that engine going. And What Happens In Vegas has plenty of all that in abundance, and more." Prairie Miller NEWS BLAZE "There is never any doubt as to where the story is heading, but it's fun watching Diaz and Kutcher go through the paces. Director Tom Vaughan keeps the pace snappy and slides the tempo up and down as required. I had a good time with this upbeat mainstream comedy that never pretends to be anything other than what it is: and that's fun." Louise Keller URBANCINEFILE "Kutcher and Diaz diss each other with such eye-rolling, fang-baring, sexually sarcastic conviction that you may think you've wandered into a dinner-theater revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring (and rewritten by) Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman." Owen Gleiberman ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY "The stars are Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, both of whom have shown themselves to be comfortable in rom-com surroundings. This isn't one of the great romantic couplings of our generation but the two play well enough off one another that it works. The movie has one thing going for it when it comes to regurgitating the expected formula: it never introduces any serious "romantic complications." This allows the action to focus on Joy and Jack throughout rather than following one of them as he or she has a fling with an ex." James Berardinelli REELVIEWS

"The contemporary formula of bad taste for the guys and underlying sweetness for the girls is used to good effect here. The crass gags are leavened with moments of endearing sentiment as the battling couple gradually begin to see one another's good qualities. The quality of the acting is generally high, especially Rob Corddry's appearance as Jack's goofball best friend and lawyer. Diaz and Kutcher are likable screen presences, and their dewy-eyed glances set the cute meter on high." Colin Covert MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE "Forget the big, flashy movie stars that grace the movie's posters. For probably around one tenth the cost, someone over at Fox was smart enough to hire Rob Corddry and Lake Bell to play the "best friend" characters." Scott Weinberg CINEMATICAL "The film is made with all the unsubtle, overstated, ham fisted enthusiasm that only Hollywood can bring to even the most fragile material (and this isn't that fragile), even engineering two endings. Well, one and a half. The film delivers what it promises as a freewheeling, bitchy-mouthed romantic comedy, so it's a good date movie. Perhaps newlyweds, too." Andrew L Urban URBANCINEFILE "Kutcher, Diaz, Corddry and Bell deliver such spirited comic performances that you forget about the flimsiness of the plot. Kutcher and Diaz spark off each other nicely (particularly when trying to sabotage each other), while Corddry and Bell are hilarious and very nearly steal the film from the two leads. The comic performances deliver plenty of laughs and ensure that What Happens In Vegas remains worth seeing." Matthew Turner VIEW LONDON "What Happens in Vegas" leads to neo-screwball comedy in New York, and the result is an undemandingly diverting and exceptionally commercial pic that should click with its target 25-and-under demo, and probably woo respectable numbers of older ticketbuyers as well. Shrewdly positioned by Fox as counterprogramming to the early summer flash and filigree of "Iron Man" and "Speed Racer," this two-seated star vehicle for top-billed Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz wrings a respectable number of laughs from a formulaic scenario about attracted-opposites who bicker and back-stab their way toward happily ever aftering." Joe Leydon VARIETY

The Inside Story The popular expression, 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas' conjures up a veritable jackpot of shed inhibitions, insane indulgence, and gleeful debauchery. And if you can remember any of it, you probably weren’t there. But what would happen if a few crazy, okay, hugely inebriated, moments in Sin City not only didn’t 'stay' there but also followed you all the way back home and threatened to turn your life upside down? That’s the setup that explodes into a series of outrageous consequences for two sexy, if wildly mismatched, strangers in the comedy "What Happens in Vegas". From the first roll of the dice, the odds were good that What Happens in Vegas would quickly land in front of the cameras. On the strength of a winning pitch by screenwriter Dana Fox and producer Michael Aguilar ("Semi-Pro" & "The Departed"), the studio immediately commissioned a script and the comedy was off and running. 'We sold the pitch in the spring, Dana delivered the first draft in the fall, Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher soon became attached based on that draft, and we were shooting the following summer. By Hollywood standards, that’s pretty much warp speed," Aguilar recalls. According to Dana Fox, "What Happens in Vegas" was actually an amalgam of several movie ideas she’d been working on. "I’m really interested in stories about finding love or getting to know someone through dysfunction or adversity. I first came up with this story about two people who strangely get to know each other while divorcing. Around that time, I kept hearing the phrase 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas' and thought, if it wasn’t already taken, it would make a great title for a film. Then, out of nowhere, Britney Spears goes and gets married in Las Vegas. And, it’s like, yeah, one of the things you can do in Vegas is get married on a whim, sometimes even to a total stranger. Of course, the other thing you can do there is win a ton of money. And then it hit me: what if both of those things happened on the same night?” And, thus, "What Happens in Vegas" was born." "Vegas is a 24 hour city,” she says, "you can’t tell what time it is, you don’t know how much money you’ve spent, how much you’ve drunk, how much you’ve slept, and so on," says four time Blockbuster Entertainment Award winner Diaz. "It’s really like a free pass to be your wildest, craziest, funniest self," four time Teen Choice Award winner Kutcher declared, "because no one’s supposed to ever find out what you do there." Director Tom Vaughan was taken with Fox’s script after reading just the first act. "The story setup is so incredibly dynamic, fast-paced, and inventive, it absolutely had me hooked by page thirty or fourty. It’s a classic sparring comedy with two characters who, deep down, are wildly drawn to each other, though of course they can’t see it. This kind of dynamic has been going on in movies since Cary Grant first laid eyes on Katharine Hepburn: and well before that. Basically, you put together two fantastic, attractive movie stars in a small, confined space, and let them fight it out until they realize what their relationship is all about. And, as always, it’s how they get there that’s the real fun." Though the movie’s concept had its share of broad and funny conceits, the filmmakers worked hard to ground the story in as much reality as possible, especially when it came to the legal aspects of the main characters’ marriage and divorce. "We set the movie in New York because that state’s divorce laws jibed with the story we ultimately wanted to tell," notes Aguilar. "It was also the perfect place to set the non-Vegas parts of the film." Fox agrees: "Tonally, we could get away with being a bit 'larger than life' because we always kept the emotional truth of the situations and the characters in the forefront." Once Vaughan became involved, he also recognized the need to keep the film’s humour in balance. "I wanted the comedy to be very strong and genuinely funny, but also for audiences to care about Jack and Joy’s relationship. I tried to avoid doing anything too extreme just to get a laugh." "As someone who will do anything for a laugh, I appreciated Tom’s vigilance in not allowing us to go insane just for the sake of, say, a great bit for the trailer," says Kutcher ("The Guardian" & "Bobby"). "At the same time, I knew, given the script’s wild premise, we’d have our share of creative freedom." Vaughan considers the Kutcher-Diaz pairing "a fantastic piece of casting. The minute I heard they were attached, it just made the most sense in the world. I thought, 'Cameron and Ashton in a movie together? Why did nobody do this before?' From day one, there was never any question that they weren’t going to have fantastic chemistry." "I knew both Ashton and Cameron were incredibly funny," says Fox, "but I was really impressed by the immense amount of heart and depth they brought to their roles. Because they’re both so bright, we were able to turn this movie into something smarter than your average trip and fall romantic comedy." "I think I do, actually, trip and fall a few times in the movie," Diaz joked. "That’s because I probably pushed you," Kutcher quipped. For most of the movie, Diaz ("The Holiday" & "Any Given Sunday") and Kutcher's characters, Jack and Joy, have to hate each other. "The story forces them into that position," Vaughan notes, "but it’s important that you always know deep down they’re right for each other. With these particular movie stars, they look and feel right together on screen, so hopefully, it makes for a convincing core relationship for the entire film." With the magnetic Kutcher and Diaz top-lining, the bar was set unusually high for casting the film’s supporting roles. "We wanted to surround Cameron and Ashton with really smart comedians, actors with original comedy voices," Aguilar offers. "For example, Rob Corddry, who I’d worked with on a few other films, is a brilliant comic actor, as is Zach Galifianakis. They were the perfect choices to play Jack’s buddies since we weren’t looking for traditional ‘best friend’ characters - that is, guys who just stand around making wisecracks. We wanted them to be fully fleshed out by actors who could bring a unique comic timing and sensibility to their performances." "The same is true of Jason Sudeikis, who plays Joy’s fiancé Mason," says Aguilar. "He’s so smart and talented and handsome that, once he puts on that power suitou totally buy him in the role. With Jason, you also never risk losing the humour because he’s so genuinely funny." "I love people who speak their minds, and that’s my favourite thing about both of the 'best friend' characters, Tipper and 'Hater'," adds Fox. "I think there’s nothing funnier than the truth uttered at a really inappropriate moment and Lake and Rob just play that note so well." In fact, Rob Corrdry ("Semi-Pro" & "The Heartbreak Kid") and Bell come within a bees whisker of stealing the show from Diaz and Kutcher. Lake Bell ("Boston Legal" & "The Practice"), who plays Joy’s funny-angry friend Tipper, also brought a distinctive comic approach to her role. "Lake brings this almost masculine energy to the part," says Fox, "but manages to keep it sexy and fun and flirty, which is a really hard combination to bring to the table." Cutting-edge comedian, talk show host and five time EMMY Award winner Dennis Miller, was also not necessarily 'type casting' for Judge Whopper, the curmudgeonly legal veteran who presides over Jack and Joy’s would-be divorce. Diaz recalls, "The movie was filled with so much amazing comedic talent, it brought everybody’s game up that much higher. It was a totally electric work environment." Although the movie has 'Vegas' in its title, most of it takes place in New York, which inspired director Vaughan to treat the celebrated city like it was another character in the film. "We managed to get some spectacular backdrops to shoot against, which also helps give the movie an authentic energy as well as its own specific look." Filming concluded with two weeks on location in Las Vegas, with the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino serving as 'home base'. Shooting a movie anywhere crowded can cause a commotion, but filming in Las Vegas can be more than challenging. "Picture trying to shoot a scene with stars as big as Ashton and Cameron," says Aguilar. "The city isn’t going to block off an area that huge and popular, so you just have to go with it. You end up with a ton of people walking by, watching, and shouting to the actors. It’s tough, but you find ways to work with the environment, not against it." Vaughan wanted the shoot to finish in Las Vegas, thinking it would be "a psychologically nice, morale-boosting place to end up." On a more practical note, it also worked better to film first in New York, during the summer, when the city’s visual landscape and light were at their peak. "The Vegas scenes were mostly interiors and night shots," Vaughan explained, "so it worked out fine to wait and shoot there in the fall." In the end, not only does Vaughan hope audiences walk away from "What Happens in Vegas" having had a joyful, entertaining movie experience, but also with a better understanding of what brings people together. "Sometimes the person you’re meant to be with is right in front of you," the director maintains. "You just have to give yourself a chance to realize you’ve actually found them." "That’s the cool thing about life," Kutcher offers, "you can never predict who you’ll end up with or why. But when it happens, you have to pay attention. Like they say, there are no accidents." Diaz adds, "Most of the great decisions that will ever be made are the illogical ones. And sometimes those are the choices that work out the best for us." Synopsis

For charismatic party guy Jack Fuller and buttoned-up commodities trader Joy McNally, a rowdy weekend coincidentally shared in Las Vegas should have, by all rights, ended up being little more than a random blur. That is, if these two vacationing New Yorkers didn’t have a signed marriage license staring them in the face to shockingly remind them of the giant misstep they took while feeling no pain, Vegas-style. Stacking the deck, not only did Jack and Joy tie the knot after tying one on, but later scored a mind-blowing three million bucks in a slot machine bonanza. Well, Jack won it with Joy’s quarter. At the machine she’d already been playing. Or was it the other way around? And whose loot is it anyway? Therein lies the weird hand dealt this bickering duo who takes their predicament back to Manhattan only to be sentenced by the intractable Judge Whopper to "six months hard marriage". Despite the hapless protests of Jack’s legal counsel Steve 'Hater' Hader, Whopper refuses to grant Jack and Joy an annulment.

The Verdict "If romantic comedies are your fare, then "What Happens In Vegas" should provide you with a light, easy to digest, feed. Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher create plenty of chemistry in this dash for cash, romantic comedy, giving a good account of themselves in the roles of Joy McNally and Jack Fuller respectively. Any doubts cinemagoers may have about either star, are quickly dispelled right from the first moment their characters hook-up on-screen. It's obvious where the film is heading, but don't let that bother you one iota. This trip down the rocky road to true love is a heck of a lot of fun, thanks to a great supporting cast which includes veteran screen and television star Dennis Farina ("Snatch" & "Law & Order") who plays Joy’s hard-driving boss, Banger; the always delightful Queen Latifah ("Last Holiday" & "Chicago") cast as marriage councellor Dr Twitchell; and former "Saturday Night Live" star Dennis Miller ("The Net") who plays the hard-nosed, Judge Whopper. But it is the interaction between Joy and Jack's closest friends (Tipper and Steve 'Hater' Hader) that cannot go unnoticed. Rob Corddry ("Unaccompanied Minors") and Lake Bell ("Over Her Dead Body" & "Still Waters") all but steal the film from the 'well-known' stars who play the lead roles. The two co-stars generate enough onscreen spark to power a small city. Stay seated at films end because the final credits feature some revealing scenes that are a must. If you're in the mood for a zany romantic comedy with plenty of laughs then look no farther than this one. It's a hoot! Well worth a look at. 3 1/2 STARS." Crew Bytes "WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS" was .......
directed by Tom Vaughan ["Super Grass", "True!" and "Starter for 10"]; screenplay by Dana Fox ["The Wedding Date"]; costume design by Renee Ehrlich Kalfus ["Dead Man Walking", "Chocolat", "The Shipping News", "The Life of David Gale" and "Ladder 49"]; production design by Art Directors Guild Award winner Stuart Wurtzel ["Little Manhattan", "Charlotte's Web" and "Enchanted"]; edited by Matt Friedman ["The Last Run", "The Truth About Miranda" and "John Tucker Must Die"]; cinematography by Matthew F leonetti ["Dawn Of The Dead", "The Perfect Catch" and "The Heartbreak Kid"]; original music by EMMY Award winner Christophe Beck ["Yours, Mine and Ours", "We Are Marshall", "Year of the Dog" and "Drillbit Taylor"], casting by 2006 Casting Society of America Artios Award winner Avy Kaufman ["Capote", "Brokeback Mountain" "American Gangster" and "Lions for Lambs"]. Who's Who?

Cameron Diaz Ashton Kutcher Rob Corddry Lake Bell Jason Sudeikis Queen Latifah Treat Williams Deirdre O'Connell Michelle Krusiec Dennis Farina Zach Galifianakis Krysten Ritter Ricky Garcia Andrew Daly Benita Robledo Dennis Miller Jennifer Trier

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Joy Jack Hater Tipper Mason Marriage Councellor Jack Sr Jack Sr's Wife Chong Banger Dave the Bear Kelly Fuller Closets Worker Curtis Maid Judge Whopper Aunt Fuller

Run Time 95 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2008 - 20TH Century Fox Films - All Rights Reserved ©2008 All Rights Reserved The Movie Pages - Protected by Australian, International, Copyright & Trademark Laws.