BEFORE: Well, of course, what comes after a bachelor party in Vegas? I've been waiting for a premium channel to run this film so I can get a good copy of it, but it's not on their radar, so I've got to watch on crappy old VHS. Old school. This is my first celebrity birthday near-miss, since Nicolas Cage's birthday is on January 7. Sorry, Nic, couldn't be helped.
THE PLOT: A commitment-challenged man finally decides to tie the knot in Vegas, but a wealthy gambler arranges for the man to lose $65K in a poker game and offers to clear the debt for a weekend with his fiancée.
AFTER: This is sort of a low-rent version of "Indecent Proposal", no? A rich, influential man (a gangster in this case) takes advantage of a poorer couple so he can put the moves on the woman of his choice. (OK, technically this movie was released first, but Hollywood is notorious for releasing films from competing studios with the same premise...)
This shows what Nicolas Cage (last seen in "Face/Off") was like before he became all moody and introspective, and also shows that Sarah Jessica Parker was kind of hot before she started playing all neurotic on HBO.
Also, this film shows that movies will forever be divided by whether they were made before or after the explosion of mobile technology - the plot is all about the couple being separated, with no way of getting in touch with each other or knowing what the other is doing. Young kids will watch this film and wonder why they don't just call each other's cell phones, or at least send a text message or two. And why does a guy let a cab driver take him on a wild-goose chase around Hawaii - doesn't he have GPS or Mapquest on his phone, and why didn't he just Google the address he needed?
NITPICK POINT: How did Nicolas Cage's character start a poker game with $1,000 in chips and end up losing $65,000? In order to bet $65,000 he had to HAVE $65,000 - and if he had it, how did he end up owing it? I'm sure they let him win so he'd build up a pot, but how could they be sure he'd risk it? They didn't explain the mechanics of this very well. And if they extended him credit - well, I've got no sympathy for someone who bets money he doesn't have and then loses it.
NITPICK POINT #2: If the gangster's wife died from skin cancer, and he's still missing her, why is he so keen on doing outdoor activities like scuba diving and hiking, apparently without sunscreen for him or his date? Didn't he learn a lesson?
This is a good companion piece for "The Hangover", because it's just as outrageous, in that the situations are equally unlikely. As we all know from movies, anyone who comes to Vegas engaged soon breaks up, and anyone who comes to Vegas single risks being in a quickie marriage that they don't remember. I'm sure the Vegas tourism board has a few problems with the way the city is depicted in films. And Elvis impersonators might take issue as well.
Also starring James Caan (last seen in "Misery"), with cameos from Pat Morita (last seen in "Spy Hard"), Anne Bancroft, Peter Boyle (last seen in "Where the Buffalo Roam"), Seymour Cassel (last seen in "Colors"), Tony Shalhoub (last seen in "The Siege") and Ben Stein (last seen in "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed"). Oh, and current radio superstar Bruno Mars played the child Elvis impersonator...
RATING: 5 out of 10 limousines
I remember I was motivated to watch this because some one in Hawaii mentioned Hawaii is in the film. Other than that, I recall little of the film.
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