Nicholas Cage was a lot funnier in his earlier years when his stressed out conniptions had a bit more of a desperate flair and his sarcasm more bite. One example of such a performance is Honeymoon in Vegas, the 1992 comedy about a man who can’t commit but makes a sweeping romantic gesture to his longtime girlfriend for a whirlwind wedding in Vegas only to have a poker game throw his plan off-kilter. It’s not a flawless comedy as it has a few threads that go absolutely nowhere and others that just don’t work, but it has enough of that romantic comedy heart courtesy of entertaining performances from Nicolas Cage, James Caan, and Sarah Jessica Parker that the already modest runtime seems to just fly by.
Jack (Cage) and Betsy (Parker) have enjoyed a steady relationship in New York City for a few years, he a detective and she a teacher, but lately their relationship has been in a slump. Betsy wants to get married, but Cage has had commitment issues ever since his mother died with the parting words of “Never get married.” After all the time they’ve spent together, Jack decides he needs to put his mother’s ultimatum to rest and takes Betsy to Las Vegas for a quick wedding and some gambling. Unfortunately, the gambling comes first and doesn’t go as planned when Jack gets sucked into a game with Tommy Corman (Caan) and ends up $65,000 in the hole, a debt Tommy settles by requesting Betsy’s company for the week in an attempt to win her love and whisks her away to Hawaii so they can be alone. Jack begins to panic and realizes he’s done wrong by Betsy and begins his quest to get back to her and finally get married like they planned.
It’s no mistake that Honeymoon in Vegas is one of Director Andrew Bergman’s three best films (of course he only directed six total), but it’s also no mistake that his three best films feature Nicolas Cage (also in It Could Happen to You) and Matthew Broderick (The Freshman), two actors that can switch between exasperation and confidence at the drop of a hat. Bergman coaxed a sublime performance out of Cage, taking his character from a self-assured detective with a few mother-issues to a neurotic romantic doing anything he can to save a relationship he endangered with his gambling habit. The film hinges on the audience’s ability to sympathize with Cage despite having essentially given up his wife-to-be as a token in the aftermath of a high-stakes poker game, and it pulls it off through a lot of reminders about how sure a thing Jack’s hand should have been and how Jack is, even with his mother’s dying wish that he not be, dead set on finally marrying Betsy.
Bergman made another wise choice in casting James Caan and instead of opting to have Caan play the part as a slimeball gangster, he effectively hides the lesser qualities of Tommy from both the audience and Betsy as long as possible. Sure, we know he’s a lowlife for starting a poker game with no intention beyond winning Betsy, showing a distinct lack of respect for the opposite gender, but the adulation he rains down upon her and all the moves he employs to win her over makes the character hard to hate. Also, Caan knows how to play intimidating but endearing simultaneously, making for a great character dynamic.
Honeymoon in Vegas has the classic film aesthetic to it and it comes across well in Blu-ray’s HD presentation. The bright lights of Vegas and a particularly striking Hawaii sunset are the pinnacle of its visual display; there's a definite improvement over past DVD releases, but does it have the visual style that makes it an ideal Blu-ray purchase? Not unless you're a big fan of the movie. In terms of audio, the primarily Elvis comprised soundtrack (thanks to it being an Elvis convention in Vegas) sounds great.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
There are no extras save for a theatrical trailer.
"Honeymoon in Vegas" is on sale July 5, 2011 and is rated PG13. Comedy. Written and directed by Andrew Bergman. Starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker.
