“She’s awfully hostile for a girl named Joy.” —Jack
Today’s quick review: What Happens in Vegas. After a night of partying in Las Vegas, Joy (Cameron Diaz), a trader who was just dumped, and Jack (Ashton Kutcher), a slacker who was just fired, wake up to find they are married. But their plans for a quick divorce are put on hold when they win $3 million on a slot machine. Now Joy and Jack have to stay together for six months before they can split the cash and go their separate ways.
What Happens in Vegas is a romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. Married by mistake in Vegas, Joy and Jack are ordered to give their marriage an honest try before a judge will let them touch the money they won. With $1.5 million to gain by getting the other one to walk away, Jack and Joy set out to make each other’s lives miserable using every childish trick they can think of.
Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher make for a great comedy duo. Joy and Jack are polar opposites in terms of their careers and attitudes towards life, but they share the same sense of petty vindictiveness. What begins as a few hurled insults quickly escalates into a full-blown marital war, complete with pranks and sabotage. Seeing them try to one-up each other time and time again is a treat.
The main shortcoming of What Happens in Vegas is that it skimps on romance. Instead of building to true love and a grand romantic gesture, the movie aims for the lower bar of mutual respect. What Happens in Vegas does a good job of showing how Joy and Jack bring out the best in each other, at least when they stop fighting, but their relationship is missing the tenderness needed to be fully satisfying.
What Happens in Vegas is not high art, but it is a worthwhile watch for anyone who likes its leads. The comedy is colorful and just exaggerated enough to be fun, and while the romance does not have everything a viewer could want, the plot progression is capably handled. Give it a shot when you are in the mood for some quick laughs.
For another comedy about a fan forced to jump through hoops by a judge’s sentence, try Anger Management. For a witty romantic comedy with a similarly cavalier attitude towards divorce, try Intolerable Cruelty. For a comedy about a slacker who learns to take responsibility, try Big Daddy.
[6.1 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1033643/). I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for fun humor and a decent premise.