At the age of 22 and movies like Transformers, Disturbia and Indiana Jones on his resume Shia Lebeouf isn't going anywhere. With the release of Eagle Eye look for this young star to becoming even a bigger hit. In 2009 Transformers Revenge of the Fallen is expected to be released which is sure to be a monster success as well.

Ashton Kutcher

A sure fire way to make it big as an actor is to star in movies like The Guardian, the Butterfly Effect, and Just Married. With his newest movie What Happens in Vegas grossing over 200 million worldwide he is sure to be a household name for years to come.

Matt Damon

With an impressive resume that includes incredible successful movies such as the Saving Private Ryan, The Departed, Oceans Thirteen and The Bourne Ultimatum, Matt Damon has proved why he is one of hollywoods elite. When you start out with good will Hunting Good Will Hunting and keep getting better you are sure to cement your legacy as one of the greatest actors of all time.

Nick Cage

Nicholas Cage won best actor in a major role for his breakout performance in Leaving Las Vegas playing a suicidal alcoholic. He was also nominated for the same award for his performance in Adaptation. He is widely known today for his performance in the national treasure series in which he looks for treasure hidden by the founding fathers. His is still comming out with blockbusters and his new movie Ghost Rider 2 is sure to be another.

So we decided to see both the same day. Here is my review and contrast of both movies.

Characters

When you’re talking about a funny movies, the actresses and actors are everything. I wanted to see Baby Mama because I am somewhat of a Saturday Night Live fan, and I know how stupid both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler can be on that show. Their biting humor is what attracted me to this movie, and they did not disappoint. Fey’s character was supposed to be an uptight, business woman type, but I liked the fact that the writer gave her sarcastic lines and comebacks throughout the movie to bounce off of the equally neurotic and sarcastic Poehler character.

The combo of Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz In What Happens in Vegas seemed like it would be something like “the dream team,” but I was a little disappointed. I feel as if the writers didn’t give them good enough lines.

So the winner between these two movies as far as characters is definitely Baby Mama.

Plot

Both of these movies had clever plots. Baby Mama told the tale of woman who hires a surrogate mother and lives with her, having to deal with all of the common woes that come with Baby Mama’s, except they are both women. In What Happens in Vegas, a couple married in Vegas if forced to stay married if they want to keep the $3 million they won while there.

As far as creativity, I would have to say that the plot of What Happens in Vegas would win, but if we are talking about execution, Baby Mama wins that battle.

Ending

The ending of both movies was easy to predict, but hey, these are comedies after all! They are not deep movies that are supposed to change our lives. Without revealing how each ends, I will just say that Baby Mama went through a lot more intensive twists and turns before getting to that final ending, whereas What Happens in Vegas almost ended too quickly. One minute we are in their tormented married life, and the next we are back in court (six months later) to find out the final verdict. I just felt that the producers could have spent more time crafting the story and ending.

Obviously my choice between both movies leans towards Baby Mama (and my companion agreed) due to the fact that it was better written and executed.

Back to the story, Joy (Diaz) sees her fiancee Mason off in the morning and says that they need to meet later to set their wedding date. He whines that she's planning to make a plan again and leaves for work. We learn Joy is a trader and after work she has a surprise party set up for Mason at his home. As people hide, Mason arrives and breaks up with her (while making comments about great sex with the guests listening as they hide) Joy goes drinking afterward and decides with her friend Tipper that they will use the tickets she bought Mason to go to Vegas for some fun.

Jack (Kutcher) is a sexaholic with a thing for seeing his friend Kelly in skimpy costumes like the sexy girl scout costume she wears at the beginning of the film. Jack is a furniture maker who works for his father who fires him because he can never finish anything he starts. The two compete in a basketball match against each other with Jack's job at stake, his father wins. His friend Hater later recommends a trip to Vegas.

The four of them meet by mistake upon arrival in Vegas when they are placed in the same hotel suite by mistake. They fix the mistake by getting two separate suites of the highest quality. Jack also manages to convince the hotel clerk to give them some VIP passes. As Joy and Tipper are dropped off onto the Vegas strip, Jack begs Joy to have one drink. Joy claims she and Tipper are about to plan their "assault" on the strip. Reminding her of her now ex-fiancee, Jack replies that she's planning to make a plan. Joy stops in her tracks and agrees to have one drink.

This is where the fun begins. I'd LOVE to tell more of the story but I really recommend you see it yourself.

4/5 Novas.

Martin Lawrence provides the voice to Boog, the bear, who meets up with Ashton Kutcher's deer named Elliot. Boog has trouble holding his sugar, and when the two break into a convenience store for all the sugar they can consume, Boog is brought “home” to his female caretaker, Beth (voiced by Debra Messing), in the back of the sheriff's caged vehicle as if he were drunk.

Elliot returns to visit Boog during a stage show, however, the curtain is backlit and the audience sees what it believes is Boog tearing Elliot to shreds in a vicious attack, which isn't the case. After this mistaken incident, Boog is labeled dangerous; he is drugged and flown to the top ridge where Beth believes he will be safe. After all, she does this to him three days before “open season” starts.

What ensues is a very comical plot in which a bear who's only known the comforts of a garage, a giant doggie bed, his stuffed bear (that has a pull string that plays “Teddy bear picnic”) and a commode, has to try and navigate his way through the forest for the first time. After what seems to be a few hours, Boog finally gives in and agrees to take along Elliot, who claims to know the way back to the city, and back to Beth. The truth is, Elliot wouldn't know his way out of a paper bag, which makes the movie quite funny.

Boog is made fun of by the other animals in the forest at every turn. He takes on the tree squirrels, lead by McSquizzy (Billy Connolly), and loses horribly. He is laughed at as the dancing bear by the dam building beavers. And he loses two very comical battles with a porcupine and a pair of skunks. He is also left having to deal with a new problem: when you're used to a commode, where do you go in the woods?

Although the animals are mostly hiding on high ground, a misstep by Boog and Elliot end up destroying a dam, and flooding all the animals back down to the hunting ground with not enough time to climb back up to safety. Boog ends up rallying the forest to come together, and they gather as much material as they can to fight back against the throngs of hunters coming their way. What takes place are some of the most creative and entertaining scenes of the entire movie.

To be honest, I think the adults were laughing harder than the children they had taken! This movie is a definite thumbs up and very family friendly. It's well worth the ticket price. In a day and age of raunchy comedy, it's nice to see a script with lots of clean humor that everyone can enjoy.

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This is a great movie. You will get your money’s worth.

What about the “PG-13” Rating?

It was great to see a film of this type that went for a PG-13. I wish more would. Some films have something vulgar that needs expressing and any attempts to soft peddle it can offend me as much as when it’s wedged in where it doesn’t belong. There really wasn’t anything vulgar in the story line that needed expressing. We might expect military men to have course language but it wouldn’t have added to this film so they wisely left it out. There is 1 “F-bomb” which fits the scene and belongs there.

The female characters, played by Sela Ward and Shelby Fenner, add to the film but are ancillary to the message of this film. Excessive “love scenes” wouldn’t have added to the film. The romance, if you can call it that, between Kutcher’s character and Fenner’s is about what you’d expect from Hollywood and not an ideal, but it may well resonate with many in the 18 to 26 age bracket. It had a stolen from top gun feel to it, but in the end I’m ok with it.

What if I hate Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher?

Costner seems kinda hit and miss with his films. This is definitely a good film for him. The character of Ben Randall needed to be human and super human at the same time and Costner pulls that off.

Ashton Kutcher is rarely phenomenal in his films, in my opinion. I believe his best work was in “The Butterfly Effect,” but this is definitely his second best work. His acting doesn’t detract from the film.

I think the best acting in the film was by, Justin Roberts, Scott Mueller, and Omari Hardwick.

Larger Story

As a story it’s all about mentorship and forgiveness, making amends and risking your life to save others. There are allusions to being a fisher of men etc. that stand out, and some less overt aspects, like that Kutcher’s character’s name was Jake Fischer. I love the Coast Guard motto, “that others may live.” That makes a great motto for any Christian if you simply capitalize the L in Live.

If you’re like me and you like your movie to resonate with God’s story there are some scenes in this movie that you will love.