Honeymoon in Vegas (Sarah Jessica Parker)

(Amazon UK link)

We’ve had the DVD of the film ‘Honeymoon in Vegas’ on our shelves for a long time. It was a freebie that one of our relatives acquired, some years ago, with a Sunday newspaper. I don’t know why we never got around to seeing it, but we finally rectified the omission last night.

It feels like quite an old film, given the style of the titles, which are cartoonish, reminiscent of the 1960s. So I’m a bit surprised to find that it was made as recently as 1992. The star of the film is a very young-looking Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays a glamorous, feisty woman called Betsy. She’s the girlfriend of Jack (Nicolas Cage), and they’ve been together for quite some time. She really wants to get married and have children, but he is afraid of commitment.

The reason for his fear is that, on her deathbed, his mother made him promise that he would never love anyone as much as he loved her, and that he would not get married. He didn’t quite make the promise, but it haunts him. And in his work as a private detective, he has seen so much evidence of marriages falling apart and infidelity that he begins to think his mother is right. Except that he really loves Betsy, and doesn’t want to lose her.

So finally he agrees that they should go to Las Vegas and get married there. Apparently this can be done legally without any need for banns or a special license or any other prerequisite. Betsy leaps at the chance, and they check in to a large and luxurious suite. 

But they’ve been spotted by Tommy (James Caan). Betsy reminds him forcibly of his wife, who died when she was in her thirties. Tommy is a professional gambler, and also quite violent; he is used to getting his own way. So by various tricks and subterfuges, he gets Jack into a large amount of debt - and says that it can be settled if he is able to spend the weekend with Betsy. He promises that he won’t try to seduce her; he just wants to get to know her…

It’s all rather exaggerated. At least, I hope this kind of thing wouldn’t happen in reality, although I’m not familiar with what goes on in Las Vegas. But, realistic or not, it’s quite amusing as well as, at times, horrifying. Tommy is charming on the surface, while things are going according to his wishes. He can make a good case for what he wants, and is very persuasive. He knows exactly what buttons to push, to coerce Jack into being more and more risky. He knows just what kind of romantic gestures will appeal to Betsy too - and what he needs to say to convince her that Jack is not the man for her.

But I was rooting for Jack, who is a likable person, despite his commitment phobia. And Tommy’s character is very cleverly portrayed in a way that made me see him rather as Betsy does: initially as a bounder, then as a rather sad, romantic person who loved his wife very much. Then, almost imperceptibly, his true colours start to emerge.

The ending - involving Jack chasing Tommy and Betsy on several flights - is well-paced and becomes increasingly amusing. His final flight with a lot of Elvis look-alikes is clearly ridiculous… and also rather nerve-wracking. By this time, I was very much hoping he would find Betsy amongst the crowds, and that she would manage to escape from Tommy.  The climax to the film is clearly ridiculous but, again, very well done. 

We were both surprised at just how much we liked this film. The rating is 15; there’s some bad language but it didn’t seem excessive, and the bedroom scenes show people covered by sheets, with nothing explicit. There’s a bit of violence and some tension, but nothing excessive. It's unlikely to appeal to children or younger teens anyway.  

So, on the whole, I would recommend it if you like this kind of slightly silly but cleverly done romantic comedy.

Review copyright 2026 Sue's DVD Reviews