What Happens in Vegas

It’s surprising that Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz haven’t starred together before: both specialise in gorgeous goofballs, and he’s no stranger to older women… And while they rub along fine in this rom-com, it’s no thanks to the contrived plot.

Diaz plays career woman Joy, who decides to let her hair down in Vegas after being dumped by her boyfriend. There, she meets Kutcher’s likeable layabout, Jack. A few hours and many tequilas later, they’re husband and wife. The next morning, annulment plans are shelved when Jack wins the jackpot using Joy’s quarter: if they divorce, she might get half. However, a judge freezes the winnings and orders the bickering pair to make a go of their marriage.

And so this odd couple must live together and play happy families for their psychiatrist (Queen Latifah). Much sitcom humour follows, mostly drawing on well-worn gender observations: she spends ages in the bathroom, he pees in the sink and so on. Sometimes, the accompanying dialogue is snappy enough to raise a laugh. More often, the humour comes from another source: the Best Friends. Lake Bell steals the show as Joy’s mouthy mate, Tipper, who develops a love-hate relationship with Jack’s misogynist pal who is actually called Hater (Rob Corddry).

In fact, a comedy about these two fighting like cat and dog would have been much funnier. As it is, it’s a bland comedy punctuated by the odd witty moment. The inevitable romance is so routine it barely merits a mention.