written and directed by Andrew Bergman, 1992
I watched this last week on DVD. I’m pretty certain that I saw it in the theater when it was released, but it was so long ago that I can’t be sure. The flying Elvises (Elvii?) seemed to be in my memory.
This is a pretty funny flick. I love Nicolas Cage when he’s being a comedian. He does a great job as the regular guy in a strange situation. In Honeymoon in Vegas he’s basically trying to get his not-yet-quite wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, to marry him instead of evil millionaire James Caan. During the vacation in which he was about to propose, he somehow loses her to Caan for several days when he inadvertently uses her as credit in a game of poker.
Hilarity ensues as he frets over whether she will fall for Caan’s charms. Cage travels to Caan’s luxurious Hawaiian hideaway trying to find her. (Pat Morita plays one of Caan’s henchmen tasked with keeping Cage away long enough for Parker to fall under the millionaire’s spell.) Most of the funniest parts of the movie occur here. I’m trying to not spoil any part of the film for you if you haven’t seen it, so I won’t go into too much detail.
I think the film is about five minutes too long to really be considered a great comedy. (A few of the bits between Caan and Parker could have been cut without detracting from the plot.) Cage and Morita really have some deliciously funny exchanges, though, and those alone are worth watching the movie to see.
I can half-heartedly recommend this movie.
