Vegas Movies

Maybe it's cause I live here, but I'm a sucker for films that take place in Las Vegas. I've studied Casino, rewatched Vegas Vacation, and even made it to the end of 3,000 Miles to Graceland. That's right, I'll sit through just about any movie that takes place in Sin City, but today I had second thoughts.

At my local Hollywood Video I came across the straight-to-video winner Bachelor Party Vegas. I almost didn't see it but as I was walking down the aisle, I caught the bright yellow "Vegas" written in generic font in the corner of my eye.


Now if the cover art wasn't bad enought, you always know the movie is crap when on the back they list all the other movies the actors have been in. Follow this with the name of a film company that nobody's ever heard of, mystery critics who's only thoughts are "...hilarious...", and you know this film has to be a classic.

Normally I would've stopped there, left it sitting on the shelf, and never gave it a second thought. But then there was the tagline.

The purpose of a tagline is to quickly convey what the movie is about and implant itself into the minds of potential viewers. This is how movies are sold. Taglines should be unique and enticing. They should whet a viewer's appetite and leave them wanting or even needing to see the film. Some examples:

Jaws 2 - "Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water..."
Platoon - "The first casualty of war is innocence."
Independence Day - "Earth. Take a good look, it might be your last."
Silent Rage - "Science created him. Now Chuck Norris must destroy him."

The tagline for Bachelor Party Vegas: "This is one weekend they will never forget!" The exclamation point is theirs, not mine. Wow. Better still, I tried typing it into Google, and the only results I got were for Bachelor Party Vegas. Absolutely amazing. I had to rent it.

Don't expect a review or anything; I'm sure I've already given it more time than it deserves by sitting here writing this. But I had to share that tagline... "This is one weekend they will never forget!" I get chills. Really, I do.

*Anyways, to end on a higher note - a few other films, of varying worth, that were shot and take place in Vegas:
The Cooler
Diamonds are Forever
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Honeymoon in Vegas
Leaving Las Vegas
Ocean's 11
Showgirls
Viva Las Vegas