‘Vegas’ predictable but full of fun

Set in Sin City, two strangers become bride and groom following a hazy escapade on the infamous Las Vegas Strip.

And when the happy couple hits the jackpot, a tug-o-war of the sexes ensues to claim the prize money. Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) and Jack Fuller (Ashton Kutcher) are complete polar opposites.

Joy is a workaholic Wall Street trader with a tendency to schedule every detail for the day. Jack, on the other hand, prefers shooting the breeze and hoping for the best.

But each suddenly gets their rug pulled out from under them. Joy’s fianc? dumps her just before his surprise birthday party while all of their closest friends wait in the closet.

Jack works at his father’s furniture factory and is fired because of his non-existent work ethic.

To drown their sorrows they head to Las Vegas, “the only place where you can forget all your troubles”.

Joy and BFF Tipper (Lake Bell) and Jack and best bud Hater (Rob Corddry) wind up in the same over-booked hotel.

The soon to be man and wife meet when the hotel mistakenly assigns them to the same suite.

They decide to celebrate their unfortunate circumstance with a night on the town. But, neon lights, cocktails, heartache and hormones simply do not mix. A night of insane partying ends in a cliched quicky-marriage in a Las Vegas chapel.

They wake up, not only with a severe hangover but symbols of their love and commitment to each other in the form of tacky golden dice wedding rings.

They argue about their obvious incompatibility and an annulment next to a slot machine. However, when Jack strikes it rich with Joy’s coin, the ball and chain becomes a ticket to the three million dollar jackpot.

They take it to the courts to claim the winnings and the judge doesn’t take it lightly. The judge decides to make an example out of the fickle pair and freeze the money.

Instead, he sentences them to “six months hard marriage” and they must live together, try to make the marriage work and attend a weekly marriage counselling session with Dr Twitchell (Queen Latifah).

The honeymooners play house, constantly wrangle over spouse-typical issues, try desperately to sabotage the other and somewhere along the way accidentally start to fall in love.

What Happens in Vegas is a run of the mill rom-com plot with superficial, stereotypical characters.

But although we’ve seen it before, it’s still fun to watch the uptight, serious- relationship-only type girl, her angry-at-the-world girl-power best friend come up against the sweet, silly, slightly vulnerable slob and his sleazy sharp-tongued pal.

On the positive side the on-screen chemistry of the bubbly Cameron Diaz and goofy Ashton Kutcher made for good comic timing.

The movie sorely lacks originality but is consistently entertaining.

What Happens in Vegas may not be a must-see movie, but it is good for a few laughs.