What Happens in Vegas...DVD Review

By Kam Williams

Kutcher and Diaz's Battle-of-the-Sexes Comedy Comes to DVD

New Yorker Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) has just been unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé at a surprise birthday party she threw for him. Meanwhile, somewhere across town, slacker Jack Fuller (Ashton Kutcher) is being fired from the family business by his bitterly disappointed father (Treat Williams).

Both of these sad sacks venture to Vegas to lick their wounds, Joy accompanied by her best friend, Tipper (Lake Bell), Jack by his buddy, Hater (Rob Corddry). Fate conspires to have the four cross paths when their hotel accidentally assigns them to the same room.

And although misogynistic Hater and man-hating Tipper instantly dislike each other, Joy and Jack hit it off so well that they impulsively decide to get married after a night of imbibing and debauchery. However, by the time their hangovers wear off the next morning, they realize they have nothing in common. So, saner heads prevail and the newlyweds agree to get a quickie divorce.

But just as they are about to go their separate ways, Jack deposits one of his bride's quarters in a slot machine, and wouldn't you know he hits a $3,000,000 jackpot. Because they can't agree on how to divvy up the cash amicably, the greedy couple ends up in divorce court where the judge (Dennis Miller) sentences them to live together for six months before he'll render a decision.

Joy reluctantly moves into Jack's apartment and the two proceed to drive each other crazy in a standoff with nothing new to offer to anyone familiar with the battle-of-the-sexes genre. He gets under her skin with alpha-male antics like urinating in the sink and leaving the toilet seat up, and she's no angel either, relying on shrewish Tipper for advice about how to torture her hubby.

A recycled romantic comedy best left in Vegas.

Fair (1.5 stars)
Rated PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, crude humor and a drug reference
Running time: 99 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
2-Disc DVD Extras: Director's commentary, a bonus digital copy of the film, behind the scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, theatrical trailers and additional trailers for other upcoming Fox releases.

To see a trailer for What Happens in Vegas,