Movie Information
Release Date: November 1, 2013
Director: Jon Turtletaub
Writer: Dan Fogelman
Cast: Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen, Jerry Ferrara, Romany Malco, Roger Bart, Joanna Gleason, Michael Ealy, Bre Blair, April Billingsley, Stephen Scott Scarpulla, Andrea Moore, Noah Harden, RJ Fattori, Aaron Bantum, Phillip Wampler
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 105 minutes
By: CBS Films
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Country: USA
Think about this. If you take 4 men pushing 70 years of age, place them in Las Vegas with loads of cash, with no worries in the world, would it be a fun time? Would it be something to remember? Could they go back home bragging that they had the best time in their lives? Most likely, the chances are absolutely not! Though that’s not the case with these four. They’re kicking back, popping bottle (yes singular), and living it up like it’s 1959. Director Jon Turteltaub put together a hilarious film of four friends, destined to DO IT BIG one last time, not just concentrating on laughs but the power of friendship. And Hats off to them because they did just that.
After countless decades, our friend Billy decides to get married. His peers don’t approve seeing that his finance is more than half his age. While it shouldn’t matter to anyone else, it appears there’s a void he’s trying to fill. As the friends are prepping for the trip their personalities emerge and they couldn’t be more different. These four have been friends since the age of 12. Sticking up for one another like true blood brothers. As life teaches us, as years go by people change and venture off into different walks of life. Though here their chemistry is so strong as if they never left each other’s side.
The laughs start to hit harder and harder and doesn’t stop. There’s countless jokes of being an elder and all the mechanics that come with it. I can’t relate myself with my age, but it still brought joy to my heart as they’re all taking it in stride. If we’re blessed we can all make it to that age and look back at all the shenanigans that got us here in the first place. Though off to Vegas we go. Now there’s a hiccup or two as far as the flow. Sometimes not knowing where the story will take you can take your attention away, or leave you with a nice surprise. In this case there were a few scenes that could’ve been left out, but it’s no major setback. If you happen to nod away your head will rise shortly after with more chuckles.
As our friends find their place in Nevada the plot thickens with secrets from their distant past. It just goes to show what’s in the dark will always come to light. No one betrayed the other, but it just another lesson that the truth will always set you free. And keeping it held in tight can eat you up inside possibly mapping out your future. Speaking about the future, of course we all get older day after day, and I find it hilarious that when these four personalities come together, their respect for almost everyone is still intact. I can feel the bond, and can easily say it was done by Turteltaub. In the end the way he uses the camera to lock in all the emotions, really puts the icing on the cake. I have a few friends of my own and hope that our bond will last like our four friends here. The funniest segments in the movie are the realization that when older people get older, the less they give a damn. I’m not saying that they just throw their pride and hygiene out the window. It’s the fact that you know you may be in your last days and you want to have fun again. They do what they want and don’t care with the thought process of, “I’ve lived a long life, worked hard, and shit, I’m going to do what I want so get HELL OUT THE WAY!!!”
Growing up I always heard the tale, in life you only have one true friend. You may have many in your circle, a great number of acquaintances, but only one true friend. As I got older I realized this may be true. Our heroes here have a different song to sing. Since childhood (as the movie starts), they’re all thick as thieves. I find it absolutely impossible for someone not to find this feature funny. There were so many times I couldn’t hear the dialogue because the theater was still laughing at previous jokes. I’m not pushing 70 or ever threw a bachelor party in Vegas, so how can I relate? The answer is simple, and that’s the power of friendship. It’s when you know someone in and out and accept them for all their flaws. Being there no matter what when needed. These are all things we all go through but here we have 60 years’ worth, built up so there’s as much love as it is frustrations.