Charismatic quartet bring charm to ‘Vegas’

Published 7:42 am Thursday, November 7, 2013

“Last Vegas” is a prime example of a film hated by critics but beloved by its target audience. The film is about four old men in their early 70s, friends since they grew up together in Brooklyn, who gather together to celebrate the impending marriage of one of the “Flatbush Four” in Las Vegas. As any doddering idiot might guess, the film is a mixture of geezer gags and male bonding sentimentality, all of it totally predictable. Nevertheless, the mob of Social Security and Medicare recipients that tottered into the theater loved it as much as I did and so did my old lady…and, of course, I mean that literally.

Need I mention that the four are played by Kevin Kline, Morgan Freeman, Robert DeNiro and Michael Douglas and featured on the cover of the most recent issue of AARP? No doubt they all got a Jitterbug phone as a token of appreciation.

Clearly the charm of “Last Vegas” comes from the charismatic quartet. Michael Douglas plays a vacuous and self-absorbed narcissist who proposes to his 31-year-old girlfriend while delivering a eulogy of a friend. His buddies, who are scattered around the country insist on throwing a bachelor party in Vegas where Mr. Shallow plans to marry. Mr. DeNiro’s character wants no part of it because Mr. Douglas’ character didn’t show up for Mr. DeNiro’s character’s wife’s funeral. But Mr. Freeman and Mr. Kline are desperate to take a break from their monotonous routine and to celebrate their friendships.

The motivations of the individual characters are not really important, but it is interesting that Mr. DeNiro’s character is not pleased that Mr. Douglas doesn’t seem to be really in love with his sex toy. Mr. DeNiro plays the grumpy romantic, while Kline plays a married man willing to make a fool of himself via an adulterous and meaningless fling… assisted by a blue pill and a condom. Mr. Freeman just wants to escape his overly protective son. Oh, dear, I just told you the motivations were not important and here I go on about them. I may be getting senile.

Anyway, the jokes are belted out fast and furious but we have heard them all before; but most will not care because we are honored to be watching these four Oscar winners play it for laughs. And not to worry, there is a happy ending. Senior schmaltz, what did you expect, someone to die of a stroke? It’s a comedy not real life.

Mary Steenburgen appears as a former lawyer turned unsuccessful lounge singer. She left Atlanta to follow her bliss; and she is, indeed, a blissful Yoda counseling both Mr. Douglas and Mr. DeNiro’s characters; a little eye-rolling but most beguiling nevertheless.

I can’t help myself, I liked “Last Vegas.” It is geriatric schlock, but I am a geriatric who is a sucker for these four old guys delivering one-liners and cracking wise. By the way, Kevin is really the youngest of the four (at 65) while Mr. Freeman is senior (at 76). I know this because I read the AARP article. I am a member, after all. I might take them up on that Jitterbug offer sooner or later.

There are some ribald jokes here and there but who cares? We don’t have that many years left! This younger generation thinks they invented sex, right? We know that isn’t true. We did.

My only disappointment is that they did not have any outtakes at the end; well maybe there were but I am an old man and I have to take a break every hour or so to seek relief. Like the Flatbush Four, I have a prostate that is getting some age on it.

I think “Last Vegas” is a lot of fun. However, I recommend seeing it as a matinee presentation for two reasons: it is cheaper and we, the target audience, are on a fixed income and those evening shows are way past our bedtime. Oh, wait, I have a third reason: who can see to drive after dark?

“Last Vegas” deserves four bow ties out of five. I am giving it an extra bow tie simply because seniors deserve all the breaks they can get.