James Caan was among the annals of the increasingly extinct “Hollywood Actor” with a capital A. And yeah, he voted for Trump thanks to being one of many boomers who adhere to “ultra conservative” (his words) values, but that doesn’t change the depth and breadth of his work. Including some more dubious later titles, like Preggoland and Sicilian Vampire—not to mention his final onscreen appearance, Queen Bees (whose summary holds more promise than what it actually delivers). But the real masterpiece among the various gems and junk is Andrew Bergman’s 1992 rom-com, Honeymoon in Vegas.
Once again playing a gambler (as he did in The Gambler and, later, Luckytown), James Caan’s portrayal of Tommy Korman couldn’t have been achieved by anyone else in that Caan has the unique ability to convey a sleazoid personality with the dichotomy of subtle overtness. This includes his shyster methods to finagle a weekend away in Hawaii with Jack Singer’s (Nicolas Cage) longtime girlfriend, Betsy Nolan (Sarah Jessica Parker, performing in yet another one-note role). Per Jack’s capitulating suggestion, the two are in Vegas to finally get married—much to his noticeable reluctance, as he promised his mother on her deathbed that he would never get married, which isn’t Oedipal at all.
But Jack’s uncertainty remains palpable enough for both Tommy and Betsy to pick up on, the former knowing that the vulnerability of their relationship can be capitalized on to his advantage. Especially since, when you’re rich, you can control all the variables around you. Particularly in a place that’s already as ersatz as Vegas.
What Tommy chooses to control is the rigged card game that finds Jack in 65,000 dollars’ worth of debt. “Generously,” Tommy offers to cancel the debt provided that Jack will “give” Betsy to him for the weekend. Obviously, when she finds out about this little “trade,” her affection toward Jack further wanes as she spirals deeper into questioning what she’s even doing with a man who can’t fully commit with real enthusiasm (yes, it’s all very “precursor to Carrie Bradshaw with Big”). Tommy, on the other hand, can’t wait to commit, mainly because Betsy is apparently a doppelganger for his dead wife, Donna (complete with a flashback sequence of her [also played by SJP, duh] at the pool when Tommy sees Betsy tanning).
As Tommy ratchets up the smarm on their “romantic” trip to Kauai, Betsy finds herself rather “okay” with the idea of staying with him. Sort of like the feeling one gets while watching hours of television: you’re not necessarily that into it, but something about it feels reassuring. Hypnotically numbing. That seems to be what Tommy is banking on as he pulls out all the stops for wooing. In many of the promo posters for the film, Parker’s anglement was purposefully aimed toward Caan, the body language saying it all as Jack stands off like some tense third wheel with the backdrop of Vegas and maybe some Elvis impersonators also in the mix. And, when it comes to onscreen performances, Cage himself is no stranger to orbiting the town that so often feels like an alternate universe outside of time—Leaving Las Vegas being among his other mid-90s standouts.
The film was also important in terms of carving out a new niche for Caan in this latter phase of his career. One where he could finally show off his chops as a comedic actor, as opposed to being all drama and no play. And since Caan so openly detested Kiss Me Goodbye, the early 80s comedy that partly contributed to him swearing off acting for most of the rest of the decade (in addition to a requisite cocaine problem), we’ll just count Honeymoon in Vegas as his first modern mainstream comedy. A gateway into an entirely different realm of acting than his usual style. The one that has garnered him the most amount of respect in death. But let us not discount a movie like Honeymoon in Vegas, easy to write off as “frivolous fun.” And yet, if it was so frivolous, it wouldn’t linger in the mind all these years later, leaving a lasting impression with its visuals, to boot.
If nothing else, and for those convinced Misery or some such is Caan’s true crowning glory, Honeymoon in Vegas is more noteworthy alone for its historical value in showing us a time when Elvis impersonators reigned supreme over Sin City… in a magical era known as Before Licensing Issues.
