What happens in Vegas can make a good movie
”
What Happens in Vegas
”
starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz
Las Vegas seems to be a popular destination for people in the
movies. I’ve only been there once
– and it was a family trip – so I can’t claim to be an expert.
For me, Vegas was horribly hot, horribly smoky and horribly full of
drunken people. The only things I liked was the performance of
”
O
”
I saw and the gelato at the Bellagio.
What happens in Vegas can make a good movie
“What Happens in Vegas” starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz
Las Vegas seems to be a popular destination for people in the movies. I’ve only been there once – and it was a family trip – so I can’t claim to be an expert. For me, Vegas was horribly hot, horribly smoky and horribly full of drunken people. The only things I liked was the performance of “O” I saw and the gelato at the Bellagio.
Still, Vegas seems to be the place to go in the movies for people who want to get married, want to get drunk or who want to get crazy. Here is a round up of just a few of the movies where Sin City is the centerpiece.
What Happens in Vegas
Somewhere along the line people started saying “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” It could have been a line from a movie, but it actually originated as the slogan for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority as “What happens here stays here.”
Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) is an uptight woman who works on Wall Street. When her boyfriend dumps her unexpectedly, she heads to Vegas after a night of too much drinking with her best friend, Tipper (Lake Bell). There she runs into fellow New Yorker Jack (Ashton Kutcher), who can’t even keep a job with his own father because he is such a slacker, and his friend, Hater (Rob Corddry). More drinking ensues.
Though they are complete opposites, Joy and Jack tie the knot in a drunken haze. The next morning they realize the whole thing was a mistake, but they also win a slot machine jackpot. A judge won’t give them an annulment or the money until they learn to live together in New York. For the rest of the movie the two do their honest best to drive the other one to give up the money, though Jack definitely plays dirtier. This is one case where what happened in Vegas followed the partiers home.
Honeymoon in Vegas
Any movie with flying Elvis impersonators is going to have a lot of laughs. And this movie does. It earns my nod as the best movie set in Vegas, at least of the ones I’ve seen. Jack Singer (Nicolas Cage) is in love with his girlfriend, Betsy (Sarah Jessica Parker), but he just never seems ready to take things to the next level.
When they finally go to Vegas to tie the knot, Jack loses a pile of money gambling and his only way to pay off the debt is to make a deal with rich guy Tommy Korman (James Caan). The deal includes letting Betsy spend the weekend with Tommy. As Jack realizes how much he loves Betsy, he does anything to get her back, including parachuting with 34 Elvis impersonators.
Lucky You
My sister has a theory that any movie with Eric Bana is cursed. Think about it. “The Hulk,” “The Other Boleyn Girl,” and “Lucky You,” some of his most recent films, all had really awful dialogue, plot lines and acting.
The worst of these three examples has to be the gambling movie where he plays Huck Cheever. Huck is a compulsive gambler who will bet on anything – even how fast he can play a round of golf – just to get enough money to play in the world poker championship in Vegas. He takes after his father (Robert Duvall), a fellow gambler. Huck meets Billie (Drew Barrymore), a girl from California’s central valley, who wants to be a Vegas lounge singer. But his gambling gets in the way of their relationship.
The problem with the movie is that the dialogue just isn’t believable and neither is the motivation of the characters. After all, why would Billie ever give Huck a second chance after he steals money from her purse on a first date? This movie is a great guide for the kind of guy not to fall for, but as entertainment it doesn’t really work.
Leaving Las Vegas
Not every movie about Vegas is a comedy. This movie is possibly one of the most depressing movies ever made. Ben Anderson (Nicolas Cage) is a depressed Hollywood screenwriter who goes to Las Vegas to kill himself. When he gets there, he meets a prostitute named Sera (Elisabeth Shue) who has also given up on life. Despite their dreary outlook on the world, they fall in love during this slowly paced film. The movie also stars Julian Sands, Richard Lewis and Steven Weber.
Based on a novel by John O’Brien, the film earned Cage an Oscar for best actor in a leading role, with nominations for Shue and Director Mike Figgis. Though it was critically acclaimed, this movie is quite a downer so beware.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
There is this thing called “new journalism” that actually started a long time ago and had nothing to do with the Internet. Hunter S. Thompson was one of the big names associated with this movement, which became known also as gonzo journalism. In the movement writers became part of their stories. If they were writing about drugs, of course they had to try them out to really do the topic justice.
This movie is based on Hunter S. Thompson’s book of the same name that followed his road trip across the American west with his lawyer and lots and lots of drugs. Johnny Depp plays Raoul Duke, Benicio Del Toro plays Dr. Gonzo, and many, many other actors make an appearance in this psychedelic journey.
