When Joy flees to Vegas after being cruelly dumped by her fiancée she meets Jack, a laid back carpenter who has just been fired from his job by his own father. After discovering the hotel they are staying in has mistakenly booked them the same room, they decide to hit Vegas hard with a night of drink-fuelled fun and debauchery. But the pair wake up with more than a hangover when they realise they’ve got hitched and when Jack wins the jackpot - a cool three million dollars - with Joy’s quarter... the battle begins! War is waged as the pair tries for divorce through the courts but a not-so-forgiving judge rules them to ‘six months hard marriage’ in an attempt to work things out in order to share the winnings...

What Happens in Vegas is a romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher as two individuals who meet in Vegas, get drunk together and end up getting married. The film doesn't actually get to the real meat of the story until about 30 minutes in. Thankfully, this helps set up the characters as we delve into their backgrounds and social lives. The end result is that by the time we get to the part in the movie where they are forced to live together for six months, we already know what a nightmare both characters can be, as well as what redeemable qualities they have.

As they are forced to live together, the couple devise ever-escalating and vengeful schemes in an attempt to undermine the other and get their hands on the money. But how far will they go before the other cracks and cries divorce, giving up their half of the fortune?

Rob Corddry and Lake Bell star as Hater and Tipper - Jack and Joy’s prospective partners in crime who happily advise them of sneaky tactics to trick the other out of the prize money. And Queen Latifa stars as the couple’s wedding counsellor, Dr Twitchell who guides the newlyweds through their six month court order.

Extras include an audio commentary with director Tom Vaughan and editor Matt Friedman. Here the two talk about the differences between the theatrical version, the airline version, and the DVD/Blu-ray editions - especially amusing is the whole balls/butt debate. I also found amusing the story about a naked man who appeared, accidentally, in one of the scenes. However, several of the cut sequences that are mentioned here don't make it on to the DVD as extras, which is a shame.

We also get Sitting Down with Cameron and Ashton (8 min, 26 sec bizarre featurette in which the two leads talk total rubbish... and about nothing. It's almost as though they are a little the worse for drink. This is the sort of conversation you'd expect two 15 year olds, who have just discovered drink, would have at about 2 in the morning); DVD Extra Time with Zach Galifianakis (8 min, 21 sec very tongue in cheek, and very funny, featurette where Galifianakis, who plays Dave the Bear in the movie, interviews the director); From the Law Firm of Stephen J. Hader, Esq. (2 min, 42 sec spoof ad for Hader's law firm - although, I get the feeling that this may have actually have been originally intended for I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry); Deleted and Extended Scenes (8 min, 01 sec worth of scenes cut from the finished movie - shame that they didn't include the missing maid scene in the hotel); and Gag Reel (5 min, 07 sec worth of mistakes and outtakes).

The movie is funny, and pretty entertaining - with only one truly cringworthy moment (when Diaz gets up on stage and gets everyone to "Par-tee"). It's not particularly clever, or thought proving, but for a dull night in it will raise a few laughs.

At the end of the day this movie is like an immature version of War of the Roses. It's nowhere near as intelligent or funny, and it has a sickly sweet American ending - still, that shouldn't turn too many people off.

7

Nick Smithson