Honeymoon in Vegas

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!! I’ve probably seen it over 15 times and it still manages to crack me up every time that I watch it. Everything about this movie appeals to me. Nic Cage in his peak “frantic” comedy mode, screaming suddenly whenever he needs to make a point and cracking up piece by piece on the big screen (an excellent comedic performance– I only wish that he did more of those nowadays).

Sarah Jessica Parker, despite not being a favorite of mine, wears a lot of tight dresses and looks mighty sweet in them bikinis. James Caan….aaaaaah, what can you say about Jimmy Caan in this film? The man takes the goofy mobster role and adds another level to it (and that level is goddamn fright, ya’ll!). This guy is both funny and pretty damn scary in this movie. I wouldn’t want to fuck with him, I’ll tell you that much.

But what takes this so-called “typical” romantic comedy even further is its cutesy story about a guy who basically cannot commit to the woman of his dreams (natch!) and who must suddenly confront his own fears and his desire to attain the girl, in order to win her back. Okay, so that makes it sound a little “serious”, but trust me, this movie is all about laughs and if you don’t crack up when Nic Cage “loses it” in the airport ticker counter waiting line (while Ben Stein is trying to buy his ticket), you won’t appreciate anything else about the movie either…

Cage: “Just get your goddamn ticket and move on!!”

But the film takes it even further (at least in my eyes) by slapping it into two very beautiful environments, one of which is Vegas, and god oh mighty, you can never go wrong with Vegas. And then adding some gorgeous scenes in Hawaii, the blue ocean, the breathtaking sunsets, etc and so forth. Aaaaaaah, and Blue Hawaaiiii….

And then you’ve got the King of Rock n’ Roll spread all over the movie with appearances by the “Flying Elvises” (Utah chapter!), remakes of Elvis songs playing throughout and the spirit of the King soaring through the entire flick (but no hookers, I’m afraid…damn!).

BTW, I’m a big Elvis Presley fan so I’m DEFINITELY a little biased here…

The finale of the movie is also quite the kicker, it moves fast at an even 90 minutes of playtime and the gosh-oh-golly feel of the ending just gets me every time.

Now I’ve probably “overbuilt” this movie for you all, but trust me, anyone looking for a funny, romantic, cute little movie with a great soundtrack and quirky performances by all, will not be disappointed by this film!

NOW VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian