What Happens in VegasMovie Reviews

Poster art for "What Happens in Vegas."

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Avg. Critic Score: 36 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 70
    Washington Post | Stephen Hunter

    An exceedingly bright comedy that never makes you feel stupid for enjoying its brisk pacing, smart lines, sound construction and superb comic acting, not only from Ashton Kutcher but from Cameron Diaz and well-chosen No. 2 bananas Rob Corddry and Lake Bell. Read full review

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Kutcher, who gives his most energized performance to date, and Diaz, darting between the caustic and shrill, look as if they're warming up to groovy hate sex, not love, which may be why the film goes flat the moment it turns friendly. Read full review

  • 60
    Los Angeles Times | Carina Chocano

    Hokey and forced as it is, What Happens in Vegas eventually settles into a rhythm, maybe because Diaz and Kutcher actually look like they have fun together. Read full review

  • 60
    Variety | Joe Leydon

    This two-seated star vehicle for top-billed Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz wrings a respectable number of laughs from a formulaic scenario about attracted-opposites who bicker and back-stab their way toward happily-ever-aftering. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    It's a story that feels familiar at best, hackneyed at worst, which is surprising and disappointing, as director Tom Vaughan also made last year's "Starter for 10," a charming British coming-of-age comedy. Read full review

  • 38
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    If you don't see where this is going, you've never seen a movie. Sorry it had to be this one. Read full review

  • 30
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    Only Diaz shows spark because the actress knows how to simultaneously play nice and be a nasty character, thereby gaining audience sympathy. Everyone else hits one note, and it isn't nice. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    Who wants to spend a minute on the Strip with the chance that there might be people as annoying as the characters played by Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher walking around? Read full review

  • 10
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    What Happens in Vegas... should have stayed in development -- forever. This ramshackle -- and occasionally repulsive -- farce doesn't even deliver on the minimal promise of its title; most of it takes place in Manhattan. Read full review

  • 10
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    Because its director, Tom Vaughan, brings nothing of interest to the movie, including filmmaking, there isn't anything to say other than to note its insulting ugliness and ineptitude. Read full review

View more reviews for What Happens in Vegas on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Raunchy romantic comedy has a softer side, too.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this fairly raunchy comedy starring teen faves Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz revolves around a drunken, ill-advised marriage after a night of debauchery in Las Vegas. Forced to stay together due to an unexpected windfall, the leads feud, fight and argue constantly in an effort to get the other to violate their "union." There's a lot of sexual content (making out, underwear shots, breasts flashed off-camera, etc.), constant iffy (albeit inventive) language, and frequent drinking. But although there's plenty of questionable material -- including Kutcher's character feigning being the victim of spousal abuse, a topic that's hard to laugh about -- there's also a surprising amount of positive material about the nature of a real marriage and what it takes to make one work.
  • Families can talk about Las Vegas' reputation -- does what happens in Vegas in fact stay in Vegas, or do actions always have consequences? Talk with your kids about some of the real-life problems caused by drinking too much. Families can also discuss how the characters' sham marriage turns into a real supportive relationship, as well as the real challenges and rewards of marriage. Finally, families can talk about the recent trend of raunchy romantic comedies -- what makes these films so popular?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The plot revolves around the question of what makes a committed marriage; in order to break up their sham union, the main characters encourage each other to seduce their partners into infidelity. Toward the same end, Kutcher's character pretends to be a victim of spousal abuse. Some toilet humor, including urination on-screen.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: Scuffling, tussling, and feuding; characters are punched in the face and the "junk" slapping.
  • sex false3 Sex: Implied sexual activity; lots of making out; a character flashes her breasts (not shown) as a form of payment to a cabbie; characters appear in underwear; role play as part of a committed relationship; sexual exploration and more.
  • language false3 Language: Constant sexually suggestive language, with many references to "getting laid," "having sex," and more. Repeated use of words/phrases like "ass," dick," "balls," "douche," "junk," "ball sack," "jack off," "whore," "sluts," "s--t," "bitch," "buttload," "vagina," and "effing," plus "shortbus" and "retard" as insults.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Characters stay at the Planet Hollywood hotel in Las Vegas and drink Bud Light and Michelob Light. Tampax is referenced by name.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Alcohol is consumed and abused, with ramifications ranging from hangover to vomiting to an impulsive marriage. Alcohol is also consumed socially in lower volumes and with less dire ramifications. A reference is made to "a bag of weed."
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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