Honeymoon in Vegas

Honeymoon in Vegas was released in 1992 and is rated PG-13. It garnered two Golden Globe nominations, one for Nicholas Cage as best actor in a comedy/musical, and one for best comedy/musical that year.

Jack Singer (Nicholas Cage) is unable to marry his girlfriend Betsy (Sarah Jessica Parker) because his mother on her deathbed asked him to make a promise that he would not marry. His mother, played by Anne Bancroft, told him that no one could ever love him as much as she does, and she continues to haunt his dreams.

Betsy is growing weary of Jack’s stalling, and Jack further uses his clients in his private detective agency as examples of why people shouldn’t bother to marry; they’ll just cheat on each other.

Jack senses Betsy withdrawing from him, and so suggests they fly to Las Vegas to get married. Once there, he stalls yet again. Betsy meanwhile has been spotted by the professional gambler Tommy Korman (James Caan), as she is the spitting image of his deceased wife Donna. Tommy arranges a poker game and invites Jack to play, fixing it so he loses $65,000, and then tells him that if Betsy spends the weekend with him, he’ll erase the debt.

Little does Jack know that Tommy plans to fly Betsy away to Hawaii for the weekend. They leave and a frustrated Jack returns to New York. He finally comes to his senses and jumps on a plane to Hawaii in pursuit of Betsy. That’s where the fun begins. Pat Morita is a taxi cab driver named Mahi Mahi, instructed to delay Jack as long as possible from finding Betsy. He takes Jack to a run-down shack where Chief Orman (Peter Boyle) lives. It just gets crazier and crazier from there. Betsy is succumbing to Tommy’s manipulations, as well as the charms of Kauai, and part of her is just fed up with Jack’s refusal to marry her. She eventually agrees to marry Tommy. Jack ends up in a Hawaii jail, Tommy and Betsy return to Las Vegas, and Jack has to join the Flying Elvises in order to get back to Vegas in time to stop Betsy from marrying Tommy.

The songs throughout the film are Elvis classics, and the Elvis impersonators wandering through Las Vegas are just great; all nationalities and ages take a try at being the perfect Elvis. It’s a very cute and funny comedy. Nicholas Cage is just great, as is Sarah Jessica Parker in this pre-Sex and the City role. If you just want some light entertainment that will make you smile, Honeymoon in Vegas would be a good choice.