HONEYMOON IN VEGAS—-Nicolas Cage is the main reason to watch this slight, silly, boy-loses-girl comedy. We know the hero is going to reclaim his sweetie (lost in card game!); the only question is how much satiric humiliation will he have to endure in order to do so.

Though he promised his dying ma he’d never marry, New York private eye ‘Jack Singer’ (Cage) surrenders to a wed-or-fled ultimatum from long-suffering girlfriend ‘Betsy Noland’ (Sarah Jessica Parker): do it or we’re done. Vegas is the chosen bliss base, but Jack is outplayed at a too-inviting card game with wise guy ‘Tommy Korman’ (James Caan), who’s so instantly smitten with Betsy that he connives to steal her away from Jack. Trapped by a gambling debt, Jack is lowered to ask Betsy to spend a weekend with Tommy. She goes along, only to find the ‘friendly date’ includes a trip to Tommy’s beach paradise lair on Kauai. Jack pursues, but the odds aren’t in his favor. Enter the ‘Flying Elvis’s’.

Cage excels at looking and sounding put-upon, and of course he has a proven flair for blowing his top. Sarah Jessica Parker is fetching, as are some Kauai, Hawaii locations. James Caan does shtick as Nick’s competition. Pat Morita, Peter Boyle and Anne Bancroft have mirthless throwaway gigs. 

Aside from Cage, the other fun thing about this 1992 outing is the presence of a convention-load of Elvis impersonators. With Johnny Williams (fuhgettaboutit, as ‘Johnny Sandwich’), John Capodice, Robert Costanzo (frantic, convinced his wife is doing the horizontal bop with Mike Tyson), Burt Gilliam (gung ho leader of The Flying Elvises, “Utah Chapter“), Seymour Cassel, Ben Stein (tailor-made as the ‘dick-in-the-airport-line’), Keone Young, Tony Shalhoub.

Viva Vegas, cue Presley. The soundtrack has 13 Elvian covers done by Billy Joel, Trisha Yearwood, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Travis Tritt, Jeff Beck, Dwight Yoakum, Amy Grant, Bryan Ferry, Bono, Vince Gill and Ricky Van Shelton. Plus there are assorted attempted from game Elvis impersonators, the best (silliest) being ‘Little Elvis’. a six-year-old Bruno Mars. The cost, $25,000,000. The payback, $35,209,000, 41st for ’92. Written & directed  byAndrew  Bregman ((Blazing Saddles, So Fine, Soapdish, The Freshman), running  95 minutes.