Toward the end of this film, which Evil Ella and I saw last night, a distinct aroma of woodsmoke started to filter through the airconditioning. At first, we thought the cinema might be on fire and we wouldn't have to sit through the end of the movie. We decided, though, given the lack if fire engines and evacuation orders, they were probably pumping something (you know...the romantic aroma of an open fire) through the vents to add to the atmosphere of the film.

Didn't work:) Here's the review:

 

I am sure that somewhere out there, you can buy screenplay generating software, load it onto your laptop, select "Rom-Com", type the names of the two main characters you want, select the number of main supporting characters, and the half-dozen minor supporting characters, hit the “generate screenplay” button and hey presto, it will spit out something like What Happens in Vegas. 

 

The story, such that it is, involves uptight stock trader Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) who heads for Vegas after being dumped very publicly by her fiancé, where thanks to a hotel room mix up, she hooks up with recently-fired carpenter Jack Fuller (Ashton Kutcher). After a wild, alcohol-fuelled evening, the two wake up to discover they’re married. This alarming state of affairs is bad enough, except right after they agree to an annulment, Jack uses Joy’s quarter in a slot machine and pulls off a $3m jackpot. 

 

So, it’s off to court for a ruling on who actually owns the money, where interfering Judge Whopper (Dennis Miller), orders the couple into counselling with Dr Twitchell (Queen Latifah) — seriously only a computer would generate names like Whopper and Twitchell — and insists they cohabit for 6 months before he decides who gets the loot. What ensues are the inevitable hijinks as each of this mismatched couple tries their damnedest to make the other renege on the deal, thereby forfeiting their share of the cash. Of course, in the process, *spoiler alert* … Oh my goodness…they fall in love. What a brilliant twist! 

 

I sat through this film, ticking the scenes off in my head. “Oh look, the isn’t-she-lovely-in-an-evening-dress scene.” “Aha… now we’ve come to the look-what-a-great-dad-he’ll-make-because-he-coaches-Little-League scene.” We even have putting-down-the-toilet-scene lesson and a final kiss against the sunset. I kid you not. 

 

In the end, this is a mildly amusing way to spend an hour and a half, if you can get past the unbelievability of the premise, plot, the characters and the ending. Kutcher is fine as the lovable slacker, because that’s what he does best. I had a harder job believing Diaz as either a stock trader or the object of Jack’s desire. Queen Latifah phones in her performance as the marriage counsellor. Dennis Miller, on the other hand, looks like he’s actually having fun, but then, they let him sit in a great big courtroom and bang a gavel. I’d find that fun, too.

 

The rest of the supporting cast does their job competently enough, but debut director Tom Vaughan (Big Love, Cold Feet) can do nothing to disguise, when it all boils down to it, that this is a C-Grade script with an A-Grade cast. The actors give this film everything they’ve got, but with a script vying for a spot in the Guinness Book of Records for the number of Rom-Com clichés, they’re doing it tough.