Even then, they tend to be comedies, and the plots tend to feature the aging old pros performing tasks that would ordinarily be the mandate of their much younger counterparts; therein lies the comedy. Think 2000’s Space Cowboys, where Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner went into space.

Last Vegas is very much an evolution of that, except this time we have Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Robert De Niro going on a stag weekend in the far more grounded (but no less alien) city of Las Vegas.

The four are best friends, and have been for 60-odd years. The shenanigans of their youth are long behind them, though; Sam (Kline) has had a replacement knee put in and spends his days grimacing through exercise classes with people he sees as far more past-it that himself; Archie (Freeman) is treated like a child by his own children and has essentially been put out to pasture in his own home after a mild stroke; Paddy (De Niro) stagnates in his flat after the death of his wife; while, conversely, Billy (Douglas), by far the “youngest” and most active of the gang, is about to get married to a woman many years his junior.

And it’s Billy’s forthcoming nuptials that causes the gang to decide to throw off the shackles of old age that have been placed upon them and head to Vegas for a bachelor party. But will they be able to get Paddy out of his flat to join then, given the hostile relations between himself and Billy?

Last Vegas may ostensibly be a senior citizens version of The Hangover, but it’s also a lot more and a lot less than that. The script will never have you rolling in the aisles, but it does give the four leads a good chance to let loose and have some fun. The interplay between the four seasoned veterans of the screen is solid, with Kline getting the most risqué moments in his quest to cheat on his wife, but the plot never goes for huge or outrageous set-pieces.

The gang’s disassociation with modern life is portrayed well, and it’s very relatable. And that goes for everyone; not just the elderly. Most of the things that the gang find strange and upsetting about modern life are things that anyone would take issue with; it’s not Old vs. Young, in that regard, it’s simply Decency vs. Excess.

The set-pieces, such as they are, are of the light variety. The gang inadvertently coming to judge a bikini-contest could have turned ludicrous and seedy, but instead manages to keep up the warm, gently amusing tone that the film conveys. Even a cameo from 50 Cent playing himself can’t ruin the gentle vibe.

But the film’s real ace in the hole is Mary Steenburgen. Steenburgen is a lounge singer whose siren song has all the boys under her spell in no time. Steenburgen is an incredibly warm and lovely presence, and she lights up the screen with her every appearance. She also brings out the best in Douglas and De Niro, with whom she both connects. Steenburgen brings an earthy, wholesome quality to her sparky-but-resigned singer, and she’s by far the best thing in the film.

Last Vegas is a film that proves that less can be more, and it will surely leave you smiling and satisfied. And if it prompts the audience to re-evaluate their elders and perhaps give their own grandparents a call, then all the better.

Released in UK cinemas on Friday 3 January 2014.