...aber nicht mit meiner Braut - Honeymoon in Vegas

This was what "Indecent Proposal" wasn't and couldn't be: a watchable movie dealing with a unusual situation and make fun of it. Instead of a boring melodrama as Lyne film was "Honeymoon in Vegas" (awkward title considering that the main characters weren't married yet) is a funny and entertaining story.

The movie tells the story of Jack (Nicolas Cage) a detective afraid of commitment after a promise he made to his mother (Anne Bancroft) on her deathbed: never marry. He's dating a beautiful woman (Sarah Jessica Parker) who wants to get involved in a serious relationship, wants to raise a family and what these two are gonna do? They make a trip to Vegas to marry but he gets involved in a poker gambling with a gangster (James Caan, he's a master in creating these types of role), loses a large amount of money (which he doesn't have). The gangster makes a strange proposition to Jack: he doesn't need to pay his debt but instead he wants to spend a weekend with Jack's girl. From this point the movie enters in typical and clichéd comical situations and some funny and original moments (like all the Elvis Presley impersonators that appears countless times).

The trio of actors is very good, Cage and Caan offer great funny moments; Pat Morita playing a taxi driver that impeaches Cage of trying to reach his destiny is incredibly funny and has some of the greatest lines in the film. It is a good film, enjoyable for the most part but it hardly takes off from being a great movie. But director Andrew Bergman knew how to take advantage of a strange situation and show to viewers its comical aspects, and this was a huge deal considering that in the following year a disappointing film appeared using the same strategy and turning into a annoying drama that needed so few to really be a good film. And this little gem succeed it. 6/10

Honeymoon in Vegas is a charming little romantic comedy directed by Andrew Bergman, which sees him working with Nicolas Cage for the first time. Two years later would seem them collaborate once more with "It Could Happen To You", a film that is equally as funny and equally as under-appreciated. The pair work really well together as Bergman's style of comedy utilises what makes Cage such a good actor, his ability to portray anxiety in a way that makes you laugh and yet still be fully sympathetic with his plight.

In a pretty high concept plot, Cage plays a private detective, haunted with dreams of his dead mother, who is in a long term relationship with a teacher played by Sarah Jessica Parker but is afraid to tie the knot. Relationship troubles persuade Cage to take the plunge, deciding to head off to Vegas to get married as fast as possible before he is able to change his mind. The comedy really kicks in when James Caan's character, a wealthy professional gambler, spots Cage's fiancée and decides to pursue her himself using the most underhand of tactics as she looks similar to his recently deceased wife.

Granted, the premise might not be the most edgy or original of ones but it consistently manages to serve up some really funny moments. Towards the end it starts to slightly go off the boil with James Caan's character seeming to change in a way that seems geared to reach a resolution rather than unfold naturally. This problem only really briefly manifests itself in places throughout the last fifteen minutes of the film, but can't really detract from the heartwarming climax involving a planeload of skydiving Elvises.

If you are looking for a goofy comedy to watch that you don't need to think about a great deal then you'll not do much better than Honeymoon in Vegas. If you are still not convinced then watch it because Sarah Jessica Parker spends a lot of the time scantily clad, and this is before she looked like some genetic engineering atrocity where the DNA of a horse was spliced with a prune.

It has been years since I've seen Honeymoon in Vegas, and while it wasn't as hilarious as I remembered it to be, it's still a charming romantic comedy. The unique combination of Nicholas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker, James Caan, and a bunch of Elvis impersonators seems like a strange one, but it actually works. Go ahead and roll the dice on this ridiculous movie, you may actually enjoy it.

After seeing the movie about 7 or 8 times, some of the laughs have worn out, but I still have fun watching it. You can't completely negate a movie that involves a desperate man who tries to gain back the love of his fiance by jumping out of a plane dressed like Elvis. The flying Elvises concept is definitely an original touch, but there are others as well. I like the running gag involving Robert Costanzo suspecting that his fat, ugly wife is cheating on him with Mike Tyson because of obviously doctored photos of her and Iron Mike. There's also that great scene with the 5-year-old Elvis impersonator, who's actually quite good. Anne Bancroft makes a brief but funny appearance at the beginning of the film. Peter Boyle also has a funny cameo as Chief Orman, an Indian Chief who has a love for showtunes. James Caan gives his usually savvy performance. I could've done without the cliched fat henchman character, who basically repeats everything that Caan says and bumbles all over the place. Nicolas Cage is over-the-top as the paranoid Jack, but his overacting works in the context of the film, and he's often very funny. And finally, who can resist a film with tons of Elvis songs in the soundtrack?

My score: 7 (out of 10)

This is a fun enough little movie to watch but for a comedy it certainly still isn't quite funny enough.

It's a bit of a lacking movie but nevertheless it's still one that flows well with its story and has some good characters in it as well. It just seems as if they forgot to put some more great jokes and comedy in the movie, which seems amazing from the guy who also thought up the story for "Blazing Saddles". But then again, he also did "Striptease" and the remake of "The In-Laws". I'm talking about Andrew Bergman here, who wrote and directed this movie and just doesn't seem to quite have the right skills and qualities for the genre. I mean, he can definitely write and tell a good story and he can handle some decent characters but he just can't quite seem to get a grip on the right tone and style for a comedy. The movie does have some fun and crazy moments in it but even when watching these moments you'll have the idea and feeling that if they had pushed it a bit further all this movie could had truly been hilarious. In this particular case it probably wouldn't had harmed the movie if they went a bit over-the-top with it all.

Nevertheless, it still really is a perfectly watchable movie that doesn't really ever bore and you'll simply have a good time watching it. It is still a movie with more hits than misses in it. Those hits just aren't very hard however.

It's of course also really a movie that gets made interesting by its cast. When you have a cast with Nicolas Cage, Sarah Jessica Parker, James Caan and a strong supporting cast as well, you are of course quite blessed as a film-maker. Even though the genre isn't their strongest point (with the exception of Sarah Jessica Parker perhaps), they still make the movie a good watch with their performances.

A good enough movie to watch, though just nothing too impressive or memorable.

6/10

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