Joy (Cameron Diaz) is a highly restless Wall Street stock trader who works a staggering 90 hours per week. Her career driven life pressed her fiancé to leave her, unintentionally but publicly in front of all her friends. In stark contrast, Jack (Ashton Kutcher) is a bona fide slacker who assembles furniture at his father’s factory. One occupational blunder too many, Jack Sr. played by Treat Williams decides to terminate his son’s employment. Dejected, Joy and Jack, strangers at this point both head to Vegas to forget their troubles, like so many of us would.
They stumble upon each other in Vegas. And true to most Vegas lore, they got married in an Elvis chapel after one intoxicated party-hopping night. Reality came to them only the next morning and they both agreed that filing for annulment is the next best step. A few slot machines later, Jackpot, the newly weds just won 3 million dollars, with each claiming the victory for him or herself. Back home in New York City, the battle shifts to the courtroom. The judge gives his ultimatum: stay together for 6 months, that means going to Queen Latifah’s weekly couples’ therapy sessions, or lose the 3 million dollars.
You’d think that this is another run of the mill Hollywood romance, and you’d be quite right. But unlike rom-coms (romantic comedies) of recent years I think this is really well executed. Ashton is strong as himself. Think whacky irritating ‘Punk’d’ host in a relationship. Couple that with Cameron’s super assertive persona, and you have a pair so adamant about hurting each other. The peeing in the kitchen sink and uncomfortable toilet position like falling into the toilet bowls are one of the cruder antics mean Jack plays on Joy. Okay Ashton Kutcher haters might want to skip this one.
The movie’s humor is mostly concentrated in the middle of the movie where Jack and Joy engage in volleys of tit-for-tat pranks. As expected their hateful relationship slowly turns mellow. But I for one think that their dysfunctional relationship works, on the screen for the funnies of course.
Towards the end of the movie, drawing parallels to ‘The Breakup’, Joy was given a real life choice to make. That to me brings out a sense of realism of the consequences of each choice you make. And Joy’s choice might put some off.
It’s a story of how hate turns to love gruelingly through outlandish circumstances, and is certainly a crowd pleaser. I’m cashing in on Vegas.
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