STUDIO: Fox
RELEASE DATE: August 26, 2008
STARRING: Ashton Kutcher, Cameron Diaz, Rob Corddry, Lake Bell, Jason Sudeikis, Treat Williams, Dennis Miller, Dennis Farina, and Queen Latifah
WRITTEN BY: Dana Fox
DIRECTED BY: Tom Vaughan
FEATURES: Jackpot Edition DVD also features Digital Copy and over 2 hours of Bonus features including:
Audio Commentary with Director and Editor
Sitting Down with Cameron and Ashton
From the Law Firm of Stephen J. Hader, Esq.
DVD Extra Time with Zach Galifianakis
Gag reel
An Inside Look at "Marley and Me"
DVD trailers
Digital Copy

What Happens in Vegas succumbs to a common problem in the romantic comedy genre - two leads that you'd rather see get hit with a crosstown bus than with Cupid's arrow. The two central characters in this comedy, Jack (Ashton Kutcher) and Joy (Cameron Diaz) are such vile, nasty people that rooting for them to survive the running time of What Happens in Vegas becomes difficult. The funny thing is that I almost started to want these two mental misfits to get together simply because no one else on Earth should be subjected to their brand of narcissistic romance. But, like I often do in Vegas itself, I'm getting ahead of myself.

What Happens in Vegas was one of the most startling hits of the summer. It's a film that opened reasonably well in May but had legs into June and ended up grossing a stunning $210 million worldwide. Yes, that's 2-1-0. What Happens in Vegas was a monster hit, one of the biggest of the careers of everyone involved. And the film did so with barely a positive review for critics. So I popped in the What Happens in Vegas DVD trying to figure out the divide. Who was right? Critics or audiences? I realized that viewers must be very hungry for romantic comedy opposite effects-driven movies like Iron Man, Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones. The only reason to explain the success of a mess like What Happens in Vegas is that there was nothing else to see.

Jack (Ashton Kutcher) is a perennial loser, the kind of guy who gets fired by his own dad and can barely get his sh*t together. I think it's hilarious that the "Apatow schlub", the kind of guy made popular by Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and Jason Segel in recent years, is now being played by a pretty boy like Ashton Kutcher. Joy (Cameron Diaz) is a "Type A Personality", a person who has planned and nitpicked her fiance (the always-interesting Jason Sudeikis) right out of an engagement. The unemployed Jack and the unengaged Joy head to Vegas with their best friends (Rob Corddry and Lake Bell, two of the few actors who could make Kutcher and Diaz look interesting by comparison). After a wild night of partying, Jack and Joy end up married. Of course, without booze they hate each other, so the two go their separate ways, but not before one more tug of slot machine. They win and are forced by an only-in-the-movies judge (Dennis Miller) to try and make their marriage work for thirty days before they just split up the cash. So, Jack and Joy try and push each other out of the marriage, so the jackpot can be theirs. What Happens in Vegas is one of those romantic comedies where the hero and heroine hate each other at first, but eventually fall in love.

Jack and Joy are just plain evil to each other in the pursuit of cash. Yes, I would do a lot for money, but would I piss in the sink? Would I screw with another person's family? Try and re-break their broken heart over their failed engagement? Not only did I not want Jack and Joy to get the money or get together, I thought they should both do jail time. But even worse than that is the fact that Kutcher and Diaz, who I have liked in other vehicles before, have ZERO chemistry. In the final act - and this is only a spoiler if you've never seen a movie before - Kutcher and Diaz have a big kiss that has to be the least sexual or romantic smooch of the year. Not funny, not romantic, only marginally well-made, What Happens in Vegas is like a really bad night in the city of sin - it will cost you money and time and you'll only be left with a headache and regrets.

To be fair, Fox recognizes that they have one of the bigger hits of the summer of 2008 - this thing made a shocking amount of money - and they treat as such on DVD. The digital copy special edition includes over two hours of bonus features, including several featurettes, deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, a commentary track by the director and editor, and a version of the film that you can download to your computer or iPod. Fans of What Happens in Vegas will be very satisfied with the treatment given the film on DVD. There's nothing wrong with the DVD. The movie itself is another matter.