Last Vegas

Last Vegas is a 2013 American comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub, written by Dan Fogelman and starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Mary Steenburgen.^[2] The plot surronds three retirees who travel to Las Vegas to have a bachelor party for their last remaining single friend.

The film was released to theaters on November 1, 2013, by CBS Films.^[3][4]

Plot

Billy, Paddy, Archie and Sam are childhood friends from Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, who are now living in their senior years. Sam and his wife Miriam are living mundane lives in Naples, Florida. Archie, twice-divorced and recovering from a minor stroke, lives with his overprotective son Ezra and his family in Englewood, New Jersey. Paddy lives alone in his Brooklyn apartment, a curmudgeon in grief since the death of his wife, Sophie, over a year ago. Billy is a successful entrepreneur in Malibu, California, who lives with his 31-year-old girlfriend Lisa. Shortly after proposing to Lisa, Billy finds an old bottle of scotch he and his friends stole in their childhood days and calls Sam and Archie, who immediately propose a bachelor party for Billy in Las Vegas before his wedding that weekend. After being given permission by Miriam to cheat on her, Sam collects Archie and Paddy and fly off to rendezvous with Billy in Vegas.

Arriving in Vegas, Billy and Paddy get into a heated argument about Billy's failure to attend Sophie's funeral. They head to Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel to check in, only to realize that the hotel is closed for renovations. They agree to try the Aria Resort and Casino, where the wedding will be held. Before leaving Binion's they are attracted to the lounge by the singing voice of Diana, who is immediately charmed by their appreciation of her singing. The five share a drink, and they convince Diana to join them at The Aria.

While waiting to get rooms, Archie goes to a blackjack table and has a brief altercation with a cocky gambler named Dean. Archie buys chips with $15,000 (half of his pension funds), planning to enjoy his escape from medical worries. When Paddy and Sam return, they find that Archie is up to $102,000, and they quickly leave the table in fear of being accused of card counting. Meanwhile, as Billy tours the wedding chapel with Diana, he becomes charmed with her as she explains to him that she moved to Vegas because she was recently laid off as a tax attorney in Atlanta and always wanted to sing despite being a divorced empty nester.

The quartet later become judges of a wild swimsuit competition. They are then confronted by the casino manager, who offers the group his largest penthouse suite for free, in hopes that Archie will stay and spend his winnings at the hotel. They are assigned Lonnie (who is disappointed because the original person staying in the room was going to be 50 cent) is their host/butler. Billy suggests they open the old bottle of scotch to celebrate the gang's reunion, but Paddy confronts him about his absence from Sophie’s funeral and leaves the suite. That night, the remaining three go to the Aria's popular nightclub, where they accept the bouncer's suggestion that they earn immediate entrance by purchasing $1,800 bottle service, using some of Archie's winnings. There, Billy and Sam talk with the bachelorette and her maid-of-honor from a bachelorette party while Archie goes dancing. Dean comes by and begins groping the bachelorette and is confronted by Archie, Billy and Sam. Dean attempts to throw a punch at Billy but is knocked down by Paddy, who stopped by to give Archie his cell phone due to several missed calls from his son Ezra.

The next day, while the others are hungover and recovering, Paddy visits Diana and tells her that he and Billy were both in love with Sophie when they were younger and she picked Paddy. Diana catches his eye while she tries to convince him to stop grieving and move on with life because Sophie would want it. Afterwards, Paddy joins Billy at their pool cabana and admits he needs to move on from Sophie’s passing while also showing concern for Billy about marrying a younger woman. The others join in and decide to throw a big bachelor party in their suite that night. Lonnie brings Dean to the cabana to apologize for his behavior, having convinced him that the quartet are mafia members from the East Coast called “The Flatbush Four.” Dean, fearing for his life, agrees to become their errand boy for the day. With Lonnie and Dean's help, they prepare for the party and invite several people including the bachelorette group from the nightclub, exotic dancers, a band of transvestite entertainers, and cast members of Zarkana.

While the others prepare his party, Billy visits Diana. She admits that she is fond of him, and asks if he truly loves Lisa. As they walk along The Strip, Billy tells Diana that Paddy gave Sophie an ultimatum to choose either Billy or him and she secretly chose Billy first, but Billy told Sophie that she was meant to be with Paddy.

The bachelor party goes into full force as Paddy gets ready to be social again, finally removing his wedding ring. Sam meets the maid of honor from the night before, who begins flirting with him to his delight. Archie dances with the bachelorette, strippers, transvestites, then gives advice to Dean on how he, too, can meet women properly. Archie is surprised by a worried Ezra, who tracked Archie's cell phone. Archie convinces him to calm down and enjoy this chance for some special father-son time. Sam and the maid of honor head upstairs to be alone, where he encourages and enjoys her seductive ways but eventually turns down sex, realizing that he tells Miriam about all the wonderful things that happen in his life, and telling her about this soon-to-be wonderful moment would devastate her.

Paddy tells Billy he invited Diana to the party because he likes her and wants to start anew after Sophie’s passing, but realizes Billy likes her too. When Diana arrives, Billy pushes Paddy into the decorative pool in the suite and takes Diana upstairs to tell her that Paddy likes her and to give him a chance. She states that she feels like she is being treated like Sophie and “gifted” by Billy to Paddy, which Paddy overhears. Paddy is devastated to learn about Sophie's choice and throws the old bottle of scotch in the trash as he leaves the party.

The next morning, Paddy confronts Billy at the pool and tells him he does not love Lisa like Paddy loved Sophie and that the wedding must be stopped. As Lisa and her bridesmaids arrive, Paddy pushes Billy into the pool and tells Lisa that Billy is calling off the wedding. Billy and Lisa talk it out and Lisa leaves with her bridesmaids. As the guys pack up to leave, Billy comes to terms with his age and admits his fear of getting old and being alone. They come together as friends again and tell Billy to go see Diana. Billy shows up at the lounge where Diana is singing and reveals his feelings for her. The guys say their goodbyes to Dean and Lonnie and finally decide to crack open the old bottle of scotch for a final toast..

A couple months later, Billy and Diana call Archie and Paddy to announce they are getting married. They try to call Sam but he is unable to answer the phone as he is busy in bed with Miriam.

Cast

• Michael Douglas as Billy Gherson
• Robert De Niro as Patrick "Paddy" Connors
• Morgan Freeman as Archibald "Archie" Clayton
• Kevin Kline as Sam Harris
• Mary Steenburgen as Diana Boyle
• Jerry Ferrara as Dean
• Romany Malco as Lonnie
• Roger Bart as Maurice
• Joanna Gleason as Miriam Harris
• Michael Ealy as Ezra Clayton
• Bre Blair as Lisa
• April Billingsley as Bachelorette's Maid of Honor
• Andrea Moore as Bachelorete
• Redfoo as himself
• Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson as himself (cameo)

Production

Early in development, Jack Nicholson was attached to the project.^[5]

Principal photography started in November 2012 in Las Vegas.^[6] At the end of November, filming moved to the Atlanta, Georgia, area.^[7]

Reception

Last Vegas has received mixed reviews from critics. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 46% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 133 reviews, with an average score of 5.2/10. The consensus states: "The cast of Last Vegas keep things amiably watchable, but the film is mostly a mellower Hangover retread for the older set."^[8] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 48 out of 100, based on 34 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[9]

Box office

Last Vegas grossed $16,334,566 in its opening weekend in the US from 3,065 theaters, averaging $5,329 per theater and ranking #3 for the weekend. The film closed on February 20, 2014, with a worldwide final gross of $134,402,450, making it CBS Films' highest grossing movie to date.^[1]

Home media

Last Vegas was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 28, 2014.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to Last Vegas was released on October 29, 2013.

References

External links

• Official website
• Last Vegas at the Internet Movie Database
• Last Vegas at the TCM Movie Database
• Last Vegas at Box Office Mojo
• Last Vegas at Rotten Tomatoes
• Last Vegas at Metacritic