Last Vegas
CBS Films
PG-13 for profanity and sexuality
BFFs Reunite For Bachelor Party In Nostalgic Buddy Comedy
Billy (Michael Douglas), Paddy (Robert De Niro), Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline), inseparable since growing up in Flatbush back in the ‘50s, have managed to remain close over the years despite the demands of families and careers. That’s why, when never-married Billy finally decides to tie the knot, the others agree to throw him a bawdy bachelor party in Las Vegas, hoping to rekindle a little of the macho magic of their glory days.
But even before arriving in Sin City, the long-in-the-tooth senior citizens are forced to face up to the fact that they’re no spring chickens. After all, Archie is still recovering from a mild stroke, and has to tell his son (Michael Ealy) he’s attending a church retreat to sneak out of the house.
Meanwhile, Sam, who suffers from a futile case of erectile dysfunction, packs Viagra and condoms for the trip with his frustrated wife’s (Joanna Gleason) blessing. And recently-widowed Paddy has entirely lost his zest for life since the passing of his childhood sweetheart (Olivia Stuck).
Even groom-to-be Billy seems to be having second thoughts about walking down the aisle with a woman half his age (Bre Blair), especially after his head is turned at first sight by the hotel’s sultry lounge singer (Mary Steenburgen). Consequently, the reassembled Rat Pack’s highly anticipated reunion turns out to be less a licentious last hurrah than a nostalgic trip down Memory Lane, for the guys end up spending more of their time reminiscing and teasing each other than in pursuit of potential sexual conquests.
Directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure 1 and 2), Last Vegas is a laugh-a-minute comedy, with most of the humor coming at the expense of members of this self-effacing quartet as they grudgingly make concessions to old age. They remain good sports, whether being the butt of jokes about hair transplants, hair color, medications, looking old or mistakenly flirting with transvestites.
Not surprisingly, the principal cast (featuring four Academy Award winners in Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline) has no trouble generating a convincing sense of camaraderie onscreen. What is more remarkable is how another Oscar winner, Mary Steenburgen, makes the most of her support role, upstaging her male co-stars by exhibiting an endearing vulnerability in a most memorable performance.
The Hangover, geezer style!
Excellent (3.5 stars)
Running time: 105 minutes
Go For Sisters
Variance Films
Unrated
Frantic Mom Enlists Help In Search For Son In South Of The Border Whodunit
Bernice Stokes (LisaGay Hamilton) is a parole officer in Los Angeles where her job routinely places her in close proximity with the dregs of society. She normally has no reason to associate with such miscreants after hours, being very straitlaced and coming from a solid, middle class background.
However, everything changes the day the single mom’s only child (McKinley Belcher, III) suddenly vanishes without a trace. Rodney, an Iraq War veteran, hadn’t been the same since serving overseas.
Bernice was aware that he’d been hanging out with some unsavory characters recently, including a suspected drug dealer who was just murdered. Desperate to find her son, she strikes an unspoken bargain with Fontayne Scott (Yolonda Ross), a new client who has just flunked a urine test.
Rather than report Fontayne to her superior, Bernice enlists the streetwise addict’s assistance in the search. Complicating matters a bit is the fact that the two had been close friends back in high school. So, while unearthing clues pointing to Tijuana, the former BFFs are afforded an opportunity to deconstruct the events leading to their falling out over a boy they both wanted.
Besides Fontayne’s help, Bernice also retains the services of Freddy Suarez (Edward James Olmos), a disgraced LAPD detective whose investigative experience and fluent Spanish are likely to come in handy south of the border. Packing a guitar and singing in the car, the unlikely trio heads for Mexico, posing as a musical group in order to not arouse suspicion.
Written and directed by two-time Academy Award nominee John Sayles (for Passion Fish and Lone Star), Go For Sisters is a deliberately-paced crime drama which benefits as much from absorbing character development as from the intrigue surrounding solving the underlying whodunit. Credit charismatic Edward James Olmos for keeping the movie compelling, although Yolonda Ross and LisaGay Hamilton manage to fold their own opposite the Oscar-nominated thespian (for Stand And Deliver).
A dangerous border town as no country for old men or middle-aged sisters either.
Excellent (4 stars)
Running time: 122 minutes
OPENING THIS WEEK
Kam’s Kapsules:
For movies opening November 8, 2013
The Book Thief (PG-13 for violence and mature themes) Adaptation of the Markus Zusak novel of the same name, set in Nazi, Germany, and revolving around an abandoned nine-year-old girl (Sophie Nelisse) adopted by foster parents (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson) hiding a Jewish refugee (Ben Schnetzer) from the SS. With Kirsten Block, Nico Liersch and Sandra Nedeleff. (In English and German with subtitles)
Thor: The Dark World (PG-13 for suggestive content and intense violence) Eighth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in an epic battle with a primeval race of demonic elves led by a revenge-minded madman (Christopher Eccleston) with a grudge to settle. Ensemble includes Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, Tom Hiddleston, Renee Russo, Kat Dennings and Ray Stevenson.
The Armstrong Lie (R for profanity) Doping exposé chronicling the rise and fall of cycling cheat and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. Featuring commentary by Frankie Andreu, Daniel Coyle and Phil Liggett.
Ass Backwards (Unrated) Late bloomer comedy about a couple of lifelong BFFs (Casey Wilson and June Diane Raphael) living in NYC who decide at around 30 to return to their hometown to re-enter the kiddie beauty pageant in which they tied for last place as children. With Alicia Silverstone, Jon Cryer and Bob Odenkirk.
Best Man Down (PG-13 for sexuality, drug use, mature themes and brief profanity) Romantic dramedy about a bride (Jess Weixler) and groom (Justin Long) who are forced to cancel their honeymoon to handle funeral arrangements after their Best Man (Tyler Labine) drops dead during the wedding. With Shelley Long, Frances O’Connor and Addison Timlin.
A Case Of You (Unrated) Romantic comedy about an aspiring writer (Justin Long) who embellishes his profile to impress a woman (Evan Rachel Wood) he meets on an internet dating website. With Sienna Miller, Sam Rockwell, Brendan Fraser and Peter Dinklage.
Finding Mr. Right (Unrated) Romantic comedy about a millionaire’s pampered, pregnant mistress (Wei Tang) who flies from Beijing to Seattle to have her baby only to find herself falling in love with a doctor (Xiubo Wu) moonlighting as a limo driver. Cast includes Dante Lee Arias, Trevor Bess and Jason Burkart. (In Mandarin and English with subtitles)
How I Live Now (R for violence, profanity, sexuality and disturbing images) Adaptation of the Meg Rosoff novel of the same name about an American teenager (Saoirse Ronan) spending the summer vacation with relatives in the English countryside where she falls in love with a cousin (George MacKay) against the backdrop of the outbreak of World War III. With Natasha Jonas, Tom Holland, Harley Bird and Sabrina Dickens.
Medora (Unrated) Hoop dreams documentary, set in an Indiana Rust Belt town facing extinction, about the effort of Medora High School’s boys’ basketball team to break a 44-game losing streak.
People Of A Feather (Unrated) Eco-documentary examining the threat posed to the Inuit nation’s as well as the eider duck’s ways of life in the Arctic by massive hydroelectric dams powering much of eastern North America. (In English and Inuktitut with subtitles)
Reaching For The Moon (Unrated) Bittersweet biopic recounting the tragic love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloria Pires). Featuring Tracy Middendorf, Marcello Airoldi and Lola Kirke. (In English and Portuguese with subtitles)
