‘Honeymoon in Vegas’ By Desson Howe Washington Post Staff Writer August 28, 1992

Director: Andrew Bergman Cast: James Cann; Nicolas Cage; Sarah Jessica Parker; Anne Bancroft; Peter Boyle; Noriyuki Children under 13 should be accompanied by a parent Compare prices for this movie Find local video stores More movie shopping Save money with NextCard Visa

Writer/director Andrew Bergman, who also made "The Freshman," is no comic auteur, like Woody Allen or "Moonstruck" creator John Patrick Shanley. But he shares their unorthodox take on the world. Like them, he loves to go off on a weird tangent and never quite come back.

Cage's fearsome mother (Anne Bancroft), on her deathbed, makes him promise never to marry. Years later the incident is still hanging over him. It doesn't help matters that he's a detective, trailing cheating husbands. Girlfriend Sarah Jessica Parker wants to get married but can't keep waiting. Pressured, Cage suggests they do the marital deed in Las Vegas, the marriage capital of the world.

Enter con man James Caan, who sees in Parker the ghost of his beloved late wife. With Cage still wobbly on commitment, Caan smells an opportunity. Inviting Cage (an avid poker player) to a card game, he pulls the unsuspecting detective into a $65,000 deficit. It's payback time and Cage doesn't have the funds, but Caan has a suggestion: Let Parker spend the weekend with him.

The outraged Parker refuses, but when it's clear there's no other way out (and that Caan will keep his paws off her), she reluctantly agrees. Caan, a wily romancer, whisks her away to his dream home in Hawaii, where Parker finds herself increasingly impressed with his charms.

Of course, Caan's success with Parker is more attributable to Bergman's contrivances than believability. What really counts in "Honeymoon" is its insane human activity. Las Vegas is hosting a convention of Elvis Presley impersonators when Cage and Parker come to town. During the poker game, a Japanese "Elvis" is sitting in. When a massive jackpot remains, with only Cage and Caan to fight over it, the Asian crooner sings: "Wise men say, only fools rush in . . ."

But Cage is the key player, as he undergoes the most excruciating test of his life. When things get bad, volume surges through his hyper-exasperated voice. Breaking the news of his enormous debt, Cage tells Parker that his straight flush would normally be, "like, unbeatable."

" 'Like' is not 'unbeatable,' " she retorts.

"HEY, I KNOW THAT NOW, OK?" thunders Cage.

Stuck in a ticket line to catch a plane, Cage yells at the slowpoke up front to hurry. When the testy ticket official orders Cage to the back of the line -- or suffer the consequences -- Cage screams, "And then what? I'll be arrested and put in AIRPORT JAIL?"

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