Las Vegas has always been an interesting place to set a movie. glamorous casinos, fabulous weather, and that chance to win a fortune. Many movies have been set in Vegas over the years, so we thought we’d take a look at five of the best.
5. Swingers
Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn starred in Doug Liman’s 1996 movie Swingers, and both were catapulted to super-stardom as a result. The film revolves around Jon Favreau’s Mike, who, following a split with his girlfriend, is taken to Las Vegas by his friend Trent (Vaughn). Things are looking up, but then Mike crashes and burns at the casino. Down on their luck financially, the two go on to meet a couple of ladies, but soon enough, their luck runs out with them too. The rest of the film relocates to Los Angeles, but Swingers remains one of the best movies to featuring Vegas of the nineties.
4. Showgirls
Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 exploitation movie Showgirls was one of the most controversial films of the 1990s. Explicit in terms of nudity, language and violence, the film revolves around the character of Nomi, who arrives in Las Vegas to become a dancer, and soon sets about clawing and pushing her way to become the top of the Vegas showgirls. Gina Gershon also stars in the film, which actually did okay with the critics at the time, for being so-bad-that-it’s-actually-quite-good.
3. The Hangover
The Hangover was the first in a trio of comedies revolving around the exploits of Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Alan (Zach Galifanakis), and Doug (Justin Bartha), who head to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. While there, Phil, Stu and Alan manage to lose Doug, and spend the rest of the movie trying to locate his so that he can marry his bride back in Los Angeles. The film ends with Alan using his super-skills to read the casino and win back some money to pay off the mysterious gangster Mr. Chow. The Hangover Part II, and The Hangover Part III followed, and the films are now some of the most popular comedies of all time.
2. Ocean’s Eleven
The original of the three Ocean’s movies, Ocean’s Eleven is the story of Danny Ocean (George Clooney), who with an all-star crew, set out to rob three Las Vegas casinos; the Bellagio, the MGM Grand and the Mirage. Also starring Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan and Andy Garcia as the super-rich Terry Benedict, Ocean’s Eleven also showed off many of Vegas’s gambling arenas, including poker rooms, Blackjack stables and slot machines. It’s true that due to the evolution of a slot machine, players can now bring some of the Vegas magic in their own homes by playing a multitude of games online.
1. Casino
Perhaps one of the greatest Las Vegas movies in Martin Scorsese’s superb Casino. The film, released a few years after the gangster drama Goodfellas, and featuring similar themes, Casino follows Robert De Niro’s San ‘Ace’ Rothstein, a mob-connected casino operator in Las Vegas, who attempts a civilised lifestyle with his wife, Ginger (Sharon Stone). Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), also arrives in town with an ambitious agenda of his own that soon disrupts Ace’s life. The film, released twenty years ago this year, still stands up as being one of the most realistic Vegas movies of all time, and stands up to multiple, repeat viewings to this very day.
