Genre: Comedy/Crime/Drama
Director: Jordan Peele
Writer: Dominic Wilkins
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jonah Hill, Anna Kendrick, Steve Carell, Jordan Peele, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Simon Pegg, Tina Fey, Michael Rapaport, Conan Stevens
Plot: Sterling (Laurence Fishburne) is lying on a long chair in a spa with cucumbers covering his eyes. It may seem like it’s just a man having a good and relaxing time, but an eagle-eyed viewer can notice that he’s the only client at the spa and he has his most trusted bodyguard Doug (Michael Rapaport) guarding the front door. A French tourist tries to enter the spa, but Doug prevents him from doing so. Doug mocks his accent and in a profanity-filled speech, he tells him to get out as the most notorious crime boss of Las Vegas is here and nobody can be around him without his permission. He advises that it’s best for him to get out and to not argue if he wants to get out of the spa with all his teeth.
Television executive Vivian (Tina Fey) welcomes a group of writers in her office and offers them a glass of alcohol. She pours herself a glass of whiskey and she couldn’t care less. She tells them she has a problem. Their series didn’t meet the expectations and has been panned by critics who had a hard time to connect with the story and the farfetched representation they give of the Las Vegas crime scene. She says she wants to pull the plug on the show, but there are some people in the studio (not her) who still believe in this rag tag group of writers, so she’s giving them a second chance. She wants a better script for the second season on her desk in two weeks, or else they can say goodbye to their series. The camera finally turns around to reveal the group of writers, composed of Bobby (Ryan Reynolds), Jordan (Jordan Peele), Josh (Jonah Hill), Vicky (Anna Kendrick) and Luke (Steve Carrell). They say they understand the situation and they are on their way out.
The writers enter their favorite restaurant and sit at their usual table. They discuss ideas on how to improve their series. They share ideas, all worse than the others, until Josh, the voice of reason of the group, suggests that they go to Las Vegas. They don’t really understand why, until Luke realises that it’s because of the series is set in Las Vegas and neither of them has ever set foot in the city. Bobby says that he has and everyone else doesn’t believe him anymore. He says that he watched movies, like everybody else, so obviously he knows what Las Vegas looks like. Josh says that’s the point. They know what Vegas looks like, but they don’t know who Vegas feels like. Jordan wonders how they’re going to get to Las Vegas and he says that Luke is the only one to ever get a real job, so he should have money. Luke says he hasn’t, but… he has a RV. Jordan is ready to leave and to live life to the fullest in Luke’s RV, until Vicky asks him if he ever saw what Luke’s RV looks like. Luke says it’s not so bad.
They are all standing in front of Luke’s house, where they await the reveal of the RV. Luke is inside the garage, but he can’t start the RV. The others are growing tired outside and they sit on camping chairs. Bobby asks everyone if they want beers and they say they do. They sit outside sipping their beers, while Luke struggles to start the engine. When he finally does, he opens the garage door and he wheels the RV out the garage, expecting looks of wonder from his colleagues, but instead, it’s looks of disgust. Jordan notes that it looks like the RV in Breaking Bad, but after it was destroyed. Luke asks him to speak louder, he can’t hear him over the incredibly loud sound of the engine. Bobby agrees with Jordan and he tries to open the door, but he rips it out of its handles. Luke comes out and tells to be gentle to his RV as it’s fragile. He berates Bobby for the door and says that the only for it to correctly close is to stick it with duct tape. Vicky calms the boys down and tell them to be gentle, it can’t be as horrible as it looks once it’s on the road.
The five friends are on the road, all stacked up in the old RV. They are passed by multiple cars and Bobby tells Luke to go faster, but he says he can’t go faster than 50 mph, or else the engine goes too hot and it will break down. Bobby is lying on a couch-bed and he’s throwing a rubber ball on the ceiling. Vicky and Jordan are at a table brainstorming ideas for the second season and Josh is in the passenger seat trying to give Luke directions with a map over the horrible sound of the engine and the cacophony. Jordan needs to be reminded of the different character arcs going on in the show. Vicky summarizes them quickly. They have two characters who are trying to rise through the ranks of the Las Vegas organized crime, while committing various felonies and interacting with numerous criminals. Jordan says the characters could rob a casino in the next season. Vicky says that’s unrealistic as their characters aren’t really good at what they do and will surely fail. Jordan interrupts him and talks about the opening scene of the season. The big boss, eating lobster in a chic place with his bodyguard standing right next to him, flipping people off. Bobby says it’s so cliché that he’s dead certain that it never happens in real life.
Sterling is sitting in a restaurant, enjoying his healthy plate of lobster, while Doug flips off man who was trying to enter the restaurant. The hotel’s waiter, Andrew (Simon Pegg) asks Sterling if everything is alright. Sterling tells him to come closer and closer and closer, until he’s able to grab him by the chin and getting his face closer to his. With a huge grin on his face, he tells Andrew that he likes him, with his little accent and he doesn’t ask questions, he only does what he’s asked. Andrew takes a few steps back and rearranges his apron, before thanking him for the compliment. Doug adds a few more words, saying he agrees with his boss, his job would be easier if everyone was like him. Sterling asks Andrew to speak with his boss, so he can say the compliment to him. Andrew says that it would be impossible for him to do that, since he’s the boss around here. Sterling and Doug tell him to shut up and don’t believe him. Andrew repeats what he just said with great confidence and Sterling and Doug just laugh at him, saying that he was so scared of them he did the job himself not to disappoint them. Sterling tells him to go back to whatever he was doing before and to not bother about him anymore. Andrew politely accepts and leaves.
Luke parks the RV in a Walmart parking lot They plan their day for tomorrow and everyone agrees that they will go in a casino and learn how they work, so they can get a better idea of the feel and the vibe of a Las Vegas casino. Jordan proposes a toast, that they all have fun and hopefully they will be able to save their show.
Bobby enters the casino with Vicky by her side. They decided to go undercover, as their characters and their partners to add to the immersion and with the hope that it will give more ideas that way. They are all in their characters’ mindset, except Josh, the party-pooping, overly serious one, who just says that he’s here to save the show and not to have fun like 20-year old goofballs. They realise that nobody cared for their grand entrance and they split up. Josh heads towards the poker tables, while Luke plays dice, Vicky and Bobby sit at the slot machines and Jordan drinks at the bar. Jordan is approached by a man, Nate Jeffords (Jesse Eisenberg). Jordan isn’t in the mood to talk, so he sends him away, thinking Nate was flirting with him, calling him a tough guy.
Luke is on a winning streak and blows on the dice for good luck. He needs a seven to keep the streak rolling, but he gets only a four. He gets bummed out that he lost all of his winnings and he heads over to the bar to drink with Jordan. Meanwhile, as Vicky calmly loses at the slot machines, Bobby tries to crack one open, because he swears he’s seen it happen when he went to Atlantic City. Back in his office, Andrew, the manager, sees him and he decides to go down for a little chat with him. Meanwhile, Josh is concentrated on his poker game and he remains surprisingly calm when playing a high stakes hand. He then wins a hand and leaves the table with a huge amount of chips. Bobby is still trying to crack a slot machine open when Andrew arrives and he tries to make him stop. Bobby doesn’t believe in the threat and he continues. Andrew then says that he will force them to leave the casino if he doesn’t stop. Bobby tries to confront him and two large bodyguards escort them out. On his way out, Bobby signals his friends at the bar to leave and they do. In less than an hour, they’ve been thrown out of the casino and have learned practically nothing, except that Josh has an insane amount of chips. He sneaks back inside and cashes them out. To go back to the RV, but they don’t know that they’re being followed.
When they arrive in the parking lot, they notice that the RV has been trashed by what appears to be robbers or drunk homeless people. All of their stuff is gone and the vehicle is trashed. Now Luke sees the comparison to the Breaking Bad RV. The good news is, thanks to Josh, they have a lot of money, so they buy a new, better one! A black Maybach stops right next to the RV and a jacked bodyguard opens the rear door. Bobby asks who he is. It’s Jesus Montega (Jesse Eisenberg). He claims to be one of the most dangerous man in Las Vegas and he says he saw through the little game they’re playing. Jordan cuts him off, he sounds and looks a little too white to be named Jesus Montega, so he just asks if it’s his real name or a made-up one. Jesus is offended and he says his parents were big time Christians. Vicky asks for clarification, because he looks like a dork and not the dangerous man he claims to be. Jesus says it’s more about the brain than the muscles for him and besides, he has this huge bodyguard, Balthazar (Conan Stevens) working for him, so he’s fine, nobody will ever touch him. Bobby doesn’t agree with this fact and wants to battle it out. Jesus signals his guard to step forward and Bobby back down, he didn’t want to face the mammoth, but the weird Lex Luthor lookalike. Jesus says he doesn’t look like Lex Luthor, but Bobby claims that he does, leading to a little back and forth between the two. Jesus regains his focus and he talks about why he’s really here. He saw what they did at the casino today and he wants them to work for him. They look like a legit gang, with a badass regroup spot, pointing at the RV. Jesus asks what it is and Luke says it’s their RV, they travelled across the country with it. Jesus wants to know its name and Luke says it’s Ugly Betty. Yes, they will ride Ugly Betty until the die. He immediately regrets saying this, but it’s too late. Jesus wants to recruit the Ugly Betty crew. Bobby wants to know why and Jesus says that because they were able to rob this casino in plain day, referring to the bad of chips Josh is still holding and it looks like they’re the real deal, with a whole strategy set up. Josh tries to tell Jesus that he won the chips fair and square, but Bobby cuts his off and says they are. Jordan then interrupts Bobby and says they will think about it. When Luke asks how they’ll be able to find him to give him his answer, Jesus says they’ll know how to find him.
The group enter the RV, but are unable to close the door, because the robbers, or homeless drunks, still not sure about what happened, tore the duct tape off. They sit on the floor and think about it, after all, this is what they came here to do, to learn about the life of crime in Las Vegas. Luke isn’t sure. It started bad and he isn’t really lucky in Vegas, first he lost all his money playing dice and Ugly Betty is trashed. Speaking of Ugly Betty, they all vote in and say it was probably the worst name he could have chosen. Luke says he couldn’t say something cool, because the RV looks like a piece of crap, there, he said it, everyone is happy. Then, Josh, of all people, says they should do it. After all, he came here to save his show and this is their chance to do it. He has plenty of money, so they can buy a better RV, buy some new fancy clothes and stay at a chic hotel. They can “work” for Jesus a little and flee the city once they’re done. Jordan still isn’t sure about Jesus’ name and Vicky still isn’t sure that he is a crime boss. Luke says he’s sure he is, he’s probably meeting with some other leaders right now, with only their bodyguard around them. Everyone else agrees that it’s too cliché and these things doesn’t happen in real life, just like all the lobster eating.
Jesus is actually meeting with Sterling at the same hotel, sharing a lobster diner, served by Andrew with Balthazar and Doug by their side, protecting them from eventual harm, but nothing will happen, it’s just a friendly dinner between two old-time friends. Sterling says people would expect them to be enemies, but it’s so much easier if everyone is on the same page. He likes to have friends, that way you have less killing to do. He says that being a bad guy these days is about having swagger and let others do the work for you. Jesus disagrees. He thinks the movie and television description of the traditional bad guy is still accurate. Sterling says it’s funny, because he really looks like Lex Luthor, so of course Jesus would say that the villains are still accurate, but he thinks it’s just a cliché. Jesus says it’s funny he mentions the Lex Luthor thing, the Ugly Betty gang called him that too today and by the way, if you want to compare him to a villain, you should at least have the decency to choose a good-received villain and one that looks like him. Sterling has three things to say now, who’s the Ugly Betty gang, Jesus really looks like the badly received Lex Luthor and did he really say the Ugly Betty gang? Yes, they are the Ugly Betty crew and they are the real deal, they robbed the casino today. They ask Andrew if he knew his casino was robbed today and he’s shocked to find out. Sterling is amazed that a crew stole a casino and nobody noticed it. He asks Jesus what he’ll have them do next, but he doesn’t know yet.
Jesus is waiting for Ugly Betty crew to show in a deserted parking lot. They finally arrive in their brand new RV with spinner wheels and tinted windows. They get out in their colorful designer suits and sunglasses in slow-motion as rap music plays. Jesus notices that the Ugly Betty crew changed compared to yesterday and speaking of that Bobby says that are now called the hmmm… the hmmmm… and Luke says the Best best friends group of the best friend groups. Jesus is a little surprised and so are the others. He says he’ll just call them BBFGBFG for short, it that’s alright. Josh says that’s enough about chit chat, he wants to know what he needs them to do. Jesus says they seem like they are good robbers, so they should steal things for him, cars, money and general expensive things. Luke and Bobby try to interfere and say that they aren’t good robbers, but Josh cuts them off and says that they will do it, they just need targets. Balthazar comes forward and he gives Josh a mobile phone. Jesus says the password is Ugly Betty, but they should change it to BFFGB… whatever. It has all the coordinates of targeted vehicles on an app. He wishes them luck and leave.
Jordan grabs the phone and they move towards they examine the targets, mostly expensive cars and one or two casinos. Bobby grabs the phone and he dispatches everyone like this: Josh will go in a casino and try to win as much money as he did the first time, Jordan and Luke will steal a car and Vicky and himself will steal another one. They will all meet up in the hotel room Josh will register under name Raoul Trujillo at the casino he’ll be at. They all agree, but the only thing is, they don’t know how to steal a car. Bobby says they all have mobile phones and they should just check a YouTube video on how to do it, it shouldn’t be that hard.
Josh is trying to rent a hotel room under the name of Raoul Trujillo (the name of the main character of their series), but Andrew, who’s working in the lobby today, wants to see an ID card, but Josh doesn’t have one under the name Raoul Trujillo. When Andrew starts to get suspicious, he leans forward and says that he’s here incognito and he doesn’t want to be recognized, he’s a pretty famous celebrity and he doesn’t want to be harassed. Andrew answers that he doesn’t recognizes him and he’s a gossip guy. Josh dramatically whispers that he’s one of the writers of Bright Neon Lights, his series, it’s pretty famous (even if it is not). Andrew profusely apologizes, in fact, he’s the biggest fan of Bright Neon Lights and watched every episode. He says that they should learn a little bit about the crime scene here, their series is a little unrealistic. He asks for a picture with him and he snaps a selfie before giving him his best available suite. He doesn’t know that Jesus was in the same lobby and he saw everything.
Bobby and Vicky are at the correct location, but there are two cars and they don’t know which one to steal. They argue a little and figure out that it must be the most expensive looking one. Bobby takes out his phone and they watch a video on how to steal a car. He grabs his crowbar and he works on the window, but he smashes it instead. The alarm system goes off and a man comes out of the store, running, it’s Doug. He berates Bobby and Vicky, asking them if they know what they were doing and who they were trying to steal from. Bobby doesn’t think Doug is menacing at all and he offers him a fist fight, but Doug says he fights better with his mouth. He completely destroys Bobby with a profanity-filled tirade that leaves Bobby self doubting every decision he made in his life. Doug asks him if he still wants to fight and he says no. During this time, Vicky finds out that they were able to click on the dot in the map to see a picture of the car they were meant to steal, and it was the other car, and it was unlocked. She grabs Bobby by the collar, and they get in the car. Sterling, who came out when he heard the chaos, gets in the car and they chase them around Las Vegas.
Josh is trying to win in a poker game, but his morale is down because he keeps losing and losing. He uses his credit card to buy more chips to keep on playing, hoping things will turn around.
Jordan and Luke decided to outsmart Jesus and to steal a new car out of a dealership instead of stealing a used one. They found the exact same car in a dealership and they are out on a test drive with a salesman, everything going fine. Vicky and Bobby are chased by Doug and Sterling and drive as fast as they can. Luke receives a text from Josh. They have to pick him up at the casino. They park out front and Josh comes out running with a Gucci bag full of casino chips. The salesman asks what’s going on and they all agree that it’s a good time to throw him out of the car. Bobby receives a call from Vivian, the network executive and she wants to have a progress report. It’s not the right time however and he hangs up. Jordan drops Luke at the RV and they say they will meet up with the others somewhere else.
Luke doesn’t know that Jesus is waiting inside their new RV, with Balthazar. He looks around and he spots Jesus’ car and Balthazar peeking through the window. He runs as fast as he can and gets in the old Ugly Betty who struggles to start and when it does, he runs over Balthazar, while flipping off Jesus. Jordan and Josh are calm, listening to classical music inside their classy car, stopped at a red light, when they see Bobby and Vicky’s car running a red light with Doug chasing them. They both look at each other and they run the red light to chase them.
The chase stretches all over Las Vegas. Doug and Sterling cursing at them for breaking their window. Josh and Jordan reach Sterling’s broken window and with nothing else to do, he starts to throw chips at him, angering Doug even more. Jordan hits the break hard as Luke t-bones Sterling and Doug with Ugly Betty. Jesus, who was following Luke, gets out of their new RV to check on Sterling. They are shocked to find out that they knew each other and Jesus says that they shared lobster once a week for the last three years. Luke is ecstatic to find out that his cliché idea was indeed true. They hear the police sirens from a distance, so they all hop in the new RV and leave the scene. In the background, Ugly Betty explodes, destroying the cars and killing Jesus, Doug and Sterling. All traces of their involvement whipped out in a manner of second. Jordan has to take the wheel as Luke wants to take a moment to mourn the loss of Ugly Betty.
Back home, they meet with Vivian, who’s still drunk, as always. They expect her to be furious at them for not delivering their script in time. She tells them that she forgot to call them, but their show was saved by someone who sent them money to keep the show on air and you know how it works in show business, money keeps things afloat. They ask them who saved their show and she says it’s a hotel manager named Andrew. They all burst out laughing and leave the office, promising that their show will get better, they are criminals now.
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