Last Vegas (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

“Last Vegas”
Is “Hangover”
For Seniors

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

You’ve probably seen all three “Hangover” movies, that boys-will-be-boys comedy with an ensemble cast. In the first outing, they got themselves in trouble in Las Vegas.

Now we have “Last Vegas” -- a new comedy at Tropic Cinema -- that features four older boys getting in trouble.

Here we have four best friends in their late sixties who go to Vegas to celebrate the last among them to get married. These fun-loving old-timers include Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline.

As directed by Jon Turteltaub (“While You Were Sleeping,” “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”), the film gives “four screen legends of a certain age the opportunity to chase skirts and punch out guys a third of their age.”

“Last Vegas” is playing at the Tropic Cinema.

Guys in their late sixties? Hm, somebody’s lying about his age. Morgan Freeman is actually 76.

How does Freeman stay so young at heart?

“Hang with young women,” he laughs. “I’m telling you, it works. But it’s also about keeping yourself fit – keep moving, keep exercising. And also, you’ve got to have reasons to get up. If you have work that you like doing, and those of us in acting have work we like doing, you can go on for a long time.”

While filming “Last Vegas,” the foursome spent two days judging a bikini contest. “There was a lot of eye candy there,” says Freeman. “And we were all experiencing it big-time. Trust me. It’s not … bad … duty.”

The other three range in age from 70 down to 66.

They are described as living legends.

Michael Douglas describes his character as “a sleazeball lawyer.” Kevin Kline plays a guy “kinda at loose ends.” De Niro calls himself ”the protector of the group.” Morgan Freeman says he’s “the calming force.”

So how do they get in so much trouble, these protectors and calming forces? Because Billy (Douglas) is finally getting married, having popped the question to a girlfriend one-third his age. So his friends -- “the Flatbush Flour,” friends of 57 years -- decide to give him a send-off.

As Kline describes it, “hilarity ensues.”

Could this story really have happened to them? Morgan Freeman says no … speaking for himself. “I’m not the Vegas type, really. I’m not a gambler, not a hanger-outer. When I was there, I went to Cirque du Soleil, went to see Barbra Streisand, and I went to see Elton John. That was about all the going-out I did! Other than that, all I did in Vegas was play golf.”

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