My Review: Last Vegas (6/10)

"We were 17, you now, five minutes ago. It was just yesterday. I just don't know where it all went, you know? My brain cannot conceive how old this body is."

Last Vegas is one of those movies that you get exactly what you were expecting from it. There are no surprises, it's predictable, but since it has four monster actors you know it will be charming and fun. It's not every day that you get a chance to see Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Kevin Kline, and Morgan Freeman star together in a comedy. They're isn't anything groundbreaking or fresh about their performance, but it's just fun to see them interact with each other and make fun about their old age. Last Vegas is a forgettable film, but one that you will enjoy during its 100 minute run. It has very light humor and doesn't take any risks, but it's also heartwarming and charming. It's a genuinely warm and delightful movie with some funny moments. I'm not going to criticize the film for not taking any risks because I got exactly what I was expecting from it. My father enjoyed it much more than I did, but that's reasonable considering he's more this film's target audience. There's nothing about Last Vegas that's worth recommending, but if you're bored this is an entertaining way to spend it.

The film begins by introducing us to four childhood friends from Brooklyn during the 50's. They were like a good old gang that called themselves the Flatbush Four. 58 years later we see what has happened to each one of them. Billy (Michael Douglas) has remained single all these years and is living the good life in Malibu with his young 31 year old girlfriend. Paddy (Robert De Niro) is still living in Brooklyn and has barely left his apartment since his wife passed away an year ago. Sam (Kevin Kline) and his wife are retired and living in sunny Florida. Archie (Morgan Freeman) is now living in New Jersey with his son who is making sure his father doesn't move around much after he suffered a minor stroke. When Archie and Sam receive a call from Billy telling them that he's getting married they don't hesitate on insisting they have to throw a Bachelor party for him in Vegas. They also convince Paddy to come along and the four get ready to relive their glory days from their youth. 

Jon Turteltaub is a studio director who is better known for his National Treasure films. You know exactly what you are going to get from his movies and know that he isn't looking to win any awards. He is a director who always looks to please major studio producers. The script written by Dan Fogelman (Crazy Stupid Love) is light and fun. It has some charming moments. The film explores rather lightly the themes of friendships and how life seems to pass by faster than what we expect. Last Vegas is a standard film that does exactly what it intended.

My Review: The Guilt Trip (4/10)

¨If all the kids in the world were lined up and I was to pick one kid for myself Andy, it will always be you.¨

The Guilt Trip had several things going for it considering it was directed by Anne Fletcher who in my opinion has made some decent films like The Proposal, 27 Dresses, and Step Up. They may not have received a lot of love from the critics, but I appreciated those films, and especially liked The Proposal. The script was written by Dan Fogelman, who in 2011 wrote Crazy Stupid Love, a movie which was in my top 20 films of the year list. And to top it all off the film was teaming up the always hilarious Seth Rogen with the beloved Barba Streisand. Despite being really famous, Streisand hasn’t made many films recently so fans were really looking forward to this film. I was very disappointed with The Guilt Trip because it was pretty predictable and plain. This road trip movie between a mother and a son won`t appeal to a broad audience, especially considering that Rogen plays a much more serious and restrained role than he usually does. I can only imagine an older target audience enjoying this film, and Streisand fans will be pleased. She gives a strong performance, and Rogen does a decent job as well, but in my opinion the script was just too weak and it really hurt the movie. This is one of those movies that everyone will forget about by the end of the month.

Andy Brewster (Seth Rogen), has just invented a safe cleaning product, but is having a lot of issues trying to pitch it to important sales companies. He may have invented an innovative product, but he really doesn’t know how to market it. His mother, Joyce (Barbra Streisand), constantly calls him and tries to keep up with him although he gets a little annoyed by her involvement in his life. When he discovers that his widowed mother had a past lover he decides it would be a good idea to hook her up with him in order to get her less involved in his own life. He doesn’t tell her this of course, but brings up the idea that they should take an 8 day road trip together across the United States while he meets up with different companies to sell his product. Along the way they experience new things and meet some interesting people.

The Guilt Trip isn’t a laugh out loud comedy, instead it tried to be a more serious and dramatic film building on a mother and son relationship. It has its touching moments, but for the most part the film is very predictable and seems to be heading nowhere. A more mature audience might enjoy this film, but it is being pitched as a comedy which it really isn’t. Don’t get me wrong, the film has several funny moments, but it isn’t your typical buddy comedy. Streisand and Rogen give strong performances, but it´s not enough to save the film. I prefer Rogen when he plays his usual wacky character, but here he still manages to deliver a credible performance and has great chemistry with Streisand. At the end the film is about these two people trying to connect with each other and build on their relationship. As usual a road trip seems to be the best way for these two people to get over their differences and fix their problems. This could have been a much better film if the script was better, but I was disappointed. Don’t go see this film unless you are a Barbra Streisand fan

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