Stealing Las Vegas

A horrible... and I emphasize HORRIBLE film with such a messy plot and clearly an messy production. Not even Eric Roberts can save it. If you want an authentic Las Vegas set film, watch the Hangover.

Fun ensemble casino caper heist with Eric Roberts at his sleaziest since Star 80. His casino boss character takes pictures of his "conquests" and with each flash of his camera, my subconscious registered Paul Schneider shotgun blasting Dorothy Stratton in Star 80 and I cringed with genuine fear and disgust.

The cast of Stealing Las Vegas is full of exciting up-and-comers, but the true "find" is Antonio Fargas aka Huggie Bear from TV's "Starsky & Hutch." Fargas is simultaneously menacing and sage, and the viewer is never quite sure which side he's on.

The same can be said for Elloy Mendez's Jorge who should be a star already. He's that darn good. With more twists and turns than a Six Flags rollie coaster, this indy is worth a look.

"Hey Mom, can we watch Ocean's Nineteen?" "No, honey, we have Ocean's Nineteen at home" This is obviously the wishdotcom version of some classic casino heist movie. Think 'Heist' (2015 DeNiro, Jeffrey Dean Morgan et al) as a baseline for your casino-theft entertainment needs and you can probably conjure up a stratified list of the better-and-worse flicks to fill out the roster.

Problem is, It's hard to dismiss this film because it's so bad, it's kinda entertaining. Antonio Fargas and Eric Roberts are legends of the craft, but this Roberts is about as zero-calorie he can be as a villain and Fargas seemed to have four different people writing his character in the script that somehow got approved. Couple that with a cast full of 'that guys-n-girls' (who put the time in but aren't awe-inspiring), pretty bad choreography, some serious technical suspension of disbelief (or a crunchy candy coating of it over some lazy writing), and a content moderator that apparently was last employed as comics code enforcer for Marvel (1950s, not today), bake a little bit in development hell (guessing here) and you get "Plan 9 From Outer Space" meets "Heist": perhaps pretty campy, definitely not good enough to take seriously, but entertaining nonetheless.

The movie had a familiar plot, with a younger twist (than say Ocean's Eleven as it has been compared to). The characters were developed, providing background & substance to most of the characters. The plot was weaved together well with each character's personal plights connecting them to each other and their pursuit of money & fairness. Given it is a student production, there are limitations in special effects, but the acting was enjoyable. I found the characters likable and real. The last 30 min had to be the best, I had no expectations for the ending and found myself smiling at the twist. The actors brought a variety of emotional tones, matching the storyline well, giving the audience a love story, drama and suspense.

Entertaining B-Movie from Roger Corman. Much better than most of the VOD out there.