Las Vegas is such a fun place to blow some steam and unleash your wild side. It’s my go-to destination for a vacation whenever I need a break from my lackluster routine. However, when I don’t have enough savings to afford classic Vegas shenanigans, I watch some of my favorite movies shot in the so-called Sin City.
Las Vegas has so much more than the swanky casinos and glamorous nightlife. When you are in the city, you should look up attractions and activities around you to make the most out of your trip. I always connect to Cox Las Vegas hotspots when I’m out and about, so finding places andcalling a cab is easy-peasy. It’s so convenient when you can get internet access from your service provider on the go rather than seeking public Wi-Fi networks at random.
Anyway, if you are missing the Vegasexperience right now. You can enjoy the glitz and glam of the city through movies. Below are a few Hollywood flicks I often revisit when I long for an adventure in Las Vegas:
Top 5 Las Vegas Movies
- The Hangover (2009)
- What Happens in Vegas (2008)
- 21 (2008)
- Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)
- The Cooler (2003)
1. The Hangover (2009)
Las Vegas is a popular site for dramatic comedies, but most of them are too cliché with crass humor and predictable plots. However, The Hangover remains a masterpiece with its epic story-telling and mix of characters that never let you down. The Hangover Part 2 was released in 2011 and The Hangover Part 3 came out in 2013; the sequels are pretty entertaining too, but nothing beats the original.
It all starts with a group of guys going to Vegas for a mate’s Bachelor party. They begin the night with a toast and the next morning they wake up hungover in a hotel room; sounds pretty standard, but hell breaks loose when they discover that the groom is missing and there’s an actual tiger in the suite bathroom.
2. What Happens in Vegas (2008)
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, unless you get married in Vegas!What Happens in Vegas is a rom-com starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz, so it’s worth a watch despite the corny storyline. A woman named Joy is dumped by her fiancé and at the same time a man named Jack is fired from his job.
This is the meet-cute of two sad souls in the fun city, where they drown their sorrows in alcohol and debauchery. Jack and Joy’s first encounter involves them being assigned to the same hotel room by mistake, and later they get drunk and party together. Shortly, it turns out that they partied too hard and got married in a local chapel – that’s where the fun begins.
3. 21 (2008)
Are you familiar with thebook titled “Bringing Down the House” by author Ben Mezrich?This non-fiction book narrates how six MITmath geniuses manage to outsmart the casino system and swindle them for millions with the help of a mentor. The movie 21, inspired by this book, unfolds a riveting tale of a group of students cheating the Vegas casino system through a “card counting scam”.
The protagonist, Ben Campbell, needs $300,000 to pay for Harvard Medical School, so he agrees to join a secret group called the MIT Blackjack Team. Every weekend, the team travels to Vegas and wins huge sums at casinos with clever card-counting strategies. However, just like most good things,their happy days don’t last, and everything goes downstream following the emergence of rivalry within the group.
4. Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)
This movie is a sequel to Miss Congeniality released in the year 2000. If you aren’t familiar with this blockbuster starring Sandra Bullock, let me give you the gist of it. The main character, Gracie, is an FBI agent required to infiltrate the Miss United States beauty pageant as a contestant. The event is under threat by an anonymous bomber and Gracie saves the day!
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous did not reign the box office like the original, but it’s still decidedly entertaining, given that it takes place inLas Vegas. Gracie’s cover is blown after all the attention gained at the beauty pageant, so she embraces the role of “the new face of the FBI”. She is sent to Las Vegas to hold a press conference regarding kidnappings in the city, and she gets more invested in the case than she’s supposed to.
5.The Cooler (2003)
FYI, a ‘cooler’ is a person at casinos meant to visit tables and put a stop to winning streaks. This film follows a former gambling addict who goes by Bennie; he is employed at a casino by a man named Shelly so he can pay off his debt.
During the course of employment, Bennie gets smitten by a cocktail waitress named Natalie and that’s when his luck takes a hit. He loses the ability to cool tables and that angers Shelly. Now, his recruiter tries to sabotage the relationship and salvage the previous arrangement.
Wrapping Up
Most of the movies shot in Vegas are about heists, gambling, drunk adventures, and the aftermath. Therefore, when you choose to see a movie set in Las Vegas, you know what you’re getting into. I hope that these movies equip you with a good time and perhaps remind you of your adventures in the sin city.
