Last Vegas

MPAA/Content  PG-13 [AC, AL, MV]

Distributor  CBS Films [2013]

Technical  HD  2.35:1

Genres  COM DRA

Runtime 104 mins.

Country  USA

Budget  $28M

 

CAST

Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen, Jerry Ferrara, Romany Malco, Roger Bart, Joanna Gleason, Michael Ealy & Bre Blair; cameos by 50 Cent & Redfoo

 

CREDITS

Director: Jon Turteltaub; Screenwriters: Dan Fogelman; Producers: Amy Baer, Joseph Drake & Lawrence Mark; Director Of Photography: David Hennings; Production Designer: David J. Bomba; Editor: David Rennie; Costume Designer: Dayna Pink; Music Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh

 

THE SYNOPSIS

Brooklyn, NY; the 1950s.  Billy, Paddy, Archie & Sam are rambunctious kids and best friends known as The Flatbush Four.  Modern day: spread across the country with lives of their own, The Flatbush Four are no more.

Billy (Douglas) is a successful Malibu lawyer who proposes to his young girlfriend Lisa (Blair).  Retired blue collar Paddy (De Niro) is a cranky widower who refuses to leave his Brooklyn home.  Twice-divorced retired Air Force man Archie (Freeman), recovering from a mild stroke, lives with his overprotective son and his family in Englewood, NJ.  Accountant Sam (Kline) and his wife Miriam (Gleason) live in a retirement community in Naples, Florida—though Sam really hates it.

Billy calls Archie and Sam to announce the news—and the men decide to celebrate in Las Vegas as gift to Billy for his lifelong generosity to them.  They trick Paddy into coming—as he stopped talking to Billy years ago for not coming to his wife’s funeral.  After some bickering, a cease-fire is declared and they head off to their modest hotel—which is closed for renovations.

Billy has his assistant book them into the luxurious ARIA—which Archie pays for after winning $100k at the blackjack tables!  A penthouse suite and personal host Lonnie (Malco) are given to the guys and their Vegas vacation begins.  Along the way, they befriend a drag queen performer named Maurice (Bart) and a former tax attorney-turned-lounge singer named Diana (Steenburgen)—who takes a liking to both Paddy and Billy.

The Flatbush Four’s swanky penthouse pad becomes Ground Zero for Vegas partying, where the men reconnect; Paddy pimp-slaps a young turk (Ferrrara) into indentured servitude; Lonnie comes to respect his elder charges; Archie parties like there’s no tomorrow while Sam puts the moves on hot young chicks (after Miriam encourages him pre-trip, of course).  Paddy and Billy’s problems will get resolved too.  But will Billy go through his wedding to the much younger Lisa—or is Diana the one for him?

 

THE CRITIQUE

LAST VEGAS, an amusing—but harmless—Baby Boomer comedy, wants to be the raunchier Hangover Series’ granduncle…but merely comes off as raunchy-lite (and please hold the salt).  If anything, the movie can at least boast that all five of its principal actors are Oscar^®-winners.  That’s something, right?

Written by Dan Fogelberg (Cars, Fred Claus, The Guilt Trip), the screenplay manages to project (just about) every human emotion while maintaining a feckless, status quo veneer.  The comedy is about four aging Baby Boomers who make one last go of the new/young/modern Vegas—it has heart…but where are its balls?  Writing a more ribald tale to secure an R-rating would have made this movie more fun and rowdy.

And yes: a re-imagining of The Hangover (2009) for the Post-WWII crowd may not have been original—but it would have had the balls needed to pull it off.  Remember, Baby Boomers can still lay claim to the greatest bachelor party movie of the 20^th Century: Bachelor Party (1984).  Now that was a funny, funny movie.

At least LAST VEGAS is helmed with a sure hand by veteran director Jon Turteltaub (3 Ninjas, Phenomenon, Instinct, The Kid, National Treasure series)—whose movies I rather enjoy.  His work may not stand out—screaming AUTEUR! AUTEUR! AUTEUR! from the top of the Luxor pyramid—but being a steady hand amidst this distinguished cast cannot hurt either.  Under Turteltaub’s stewardship, the movie exhibits gloss, class and heart.

The game cast gives the characters some energy and individuality.  I am a fan of each actor’s talents & filmographies and can say that each has their moment or two during the course of this movie.  Any limitations in characterization (and there are some) are purely based on how they were written.  I must say that the standouts in this one (aside from the gold-bling cast) are Roger Bart (as a drag queen) and young Jerry Ferrara—holding his own against De Niro and company.

Production values for this modestly-budgeted $28 million movie are solid across the board.  LAST VEGAS was shot in and around Las Vegas (of course) & Atlanta, GA—which stood in for Brooklyn, NY; Englewood, NJ; Naples, FL; and (amazingly) Malibu, CA.  Kudos to veteran Production Designer David J. Bomba (Secondhand Lions, Walk The Line, Race To Witch Mountain) for also recreating the ARIA Resort & Casino interiors including the centerpiece SkySuite penthouse room where the boys stay.

LAST VEGAS features glossy HD-widescreen lensing by veteran cinematographer David Hennings (Blue Crush, You Again, Horrible Bosses)—capturing the colorful Vegas settings using the versatile ARRI^® ALEXA camera system.  The camerawork is abetted by a smooth cutting schema courtesy of veteran editor David Rennie (The Kid, Race To Witch Mountain, You Again, 22 Jump Street) and music by DEVO’s own Mark Mothersbaugh (Rushmore, The Life Aquatic With Steven Zissou, 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street).

 

THE BOTTOM LINE 

Playing very much like The Hangover Series’ randy-but-cuddly-but-toothless granduncle, LAST VEGAS entertains yet fails to live up to the advertising hype.  Still, the game cast, solid technical facets and seductive Vegas setting sell themselves very easily.  I can proudly say that this is a Sin City movie that even my mother can watch…when she gets back from Atlantic City, that is.

 

 

 

 

IMDB:                    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204975/

Wikipedia:             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Vegas

Official Site:          http://www.lastvegasmovie.com

The Family (2013)

MPAA/Content R [AC, AL, SV]

Distributor Relativity Media

Technical HD 2.35:1

Genres COM CRI THR

Runtime 111 mins.

Countries France USA

Budget $30M

 

CAST

Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron, John D’Leo, Jimmy Palumbo, Domenick Lombardozzi, Stan Carp & Vincent Pastore

 

CREDITS

Director: Luc Besson; Screenwriters: Luc Besson & Michael Caleo; Producers: Luc Besson, Ryan Kavanaugh & Virginie Besson-Silla; Director Of Photography: Thierry Arbogast; Production Designer: Hugues Tissandier; Editor: Julien Rey;  Costume Designers: Aude Bronson-Howard & Olivier Bériot; Music Composers: Evgueni Galperine & Sacha Galperine

 

THE SYNOPSIS

NYC.  Mafia boss Giovanni Manzoni (De Niro) and his family barely survive a hit on them during a barbecue gathering of Cosa Nostra—instigated by rival Don Lucchesi (Carp).  Once Manzoni turns snitch—thereby putting Lucchesi and goons in prison—he and his family are placed in Witness Protection under the supervision of pedantic Agent Stansfield (Jones).

Months later (and several relocations, too), the Manzonis—now called the Blakes—are relocated to France’s lovely Normandy region, where Giovanni—Fred—passes himself as a novelist who has a bad habit of beating up French people who piss him off; while Maggie (Pfeiffer) enjoys her domesticity by shopping and blowing up a snooty proprietor’s store.

Their teenaged kids must learn to assimilate—older daughter Belle (Agron), in love with a substitute teacher; and younger son Warren (D’Leo), a slickster who mafias his way through his new school.  After a while, the “Blakes” become friendly with the locals and throw parties—even inviting Stansfield to hang out with Giovanni when he is invited by the local film society to present Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas.

Back in America, Luchessi is tipped off to Manzoni’s whereabouts and send his goons to rub out the Manzonis in Normandy.  They manages to ice some of the neighbors—but come to a dead end when they confront the Manzonis, who get some help from Stansfield.  Afterwards, the weary FBI Agent relocates his charges yet again…

 

THE CRITIQUE

Based on author Tonino Benacquista’s 2004 novel Malavita, THE FAMILY is a bizarre crime comedy that has the right components—but does not meld into the type of sauce mama used to make.  Am not sure why—but I have a funny feeling that it has much to do with screenwriters Luc Besson & Michael Caleo’s uneven script, structure & outcome (hence the truncated synopsis above).  The material teeters between mob comedy, culture clash and shoot-em-up action-thriller with uneven results.

Surprisingly, this one is co-executive produced by Martin Scorsese—who supposedly read the script and loved it.  Makes me wonder what THE FAMILY would have been like if Marty himself directed it…

Directed without his usual visceral aplomb, Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element) handles the proceedings with the usual craftsmanship—but the movie feels as cold as a tartufo.  Luckily, he is abetted by his brilliant French cinematographer Thierry Arbogast (La Femme Nikita, Leon: The Professional, The Fifth Element)—whose HD-widescreen imagery gives the Norman locations a lovely earth tone sheen.

You know that I’m not too fond of HD-digital lensing for feature films—but the filmmakers acquit themselves nicely by using the terrific Arri Alexa Plus 4:3 camera system.  Other production values (editing, production design, music, etc.) are professional across the board for this $30 million (boxofficemojo.com) Franco-American co-production that was indeed shot in France’s Normandy Province as well as in Paris.

The FAMILY is not a good movie—but it does feature a solid cast led by Robert De Niro in his trademark, comedic passive-aggressive mode (per the production notes, author Tonino Benacquista wrote his novel with Robert De Niro in mind as the main protagonist).  Having mined similar territory (to better effect) in Jonathan Demme’s funny Married To The Mob (1988), Michelle Pfeiffer is nonetheless a welcome actress in role that allows her to blow up a corner store while we salute her for doing so (hey, the snooty French proprietor had it coming!).

Rounding out the principals, I am a huge Tommy Lee Jones fan—but I feel that he was miscast in this one.  His FBI Agent Stansfield is a bit of a cipher; I was expecting more from the character…which TLJ looks like he’s just e-mailing in.  Gimme more of The Fugitive’s Marshall Gerard instead!!  The young actors who play the Manzoni teens are fine.

All told, THE FAMILY disappoints on more levels than not.  Maybe it’ll earn a one-way ticket to the bottom of the river—but I’m no canary…so I ain’t sayin’.  And dats dat!

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

THE FAMILY is a bizarre cinematic exercise in semi-great casting, solid mise-en-scéne and lousy execution (no pun intended).  Sure, there a few chuckles to be had thanks to Franco-American-Mafioso culture shock—but this movie never decides what it wants to be: a mob comedy or a mafia flick with comedic elements?  Too bad, as this one coulda been a contendah…  Now, pass me the gun oil and the cannolis!

 

IMDB:                   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404311/

Wikipedia:            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(2013_film)

Official Site:          http://thefamilymovie.tumblr.com