Vegas Movie Wedding Scene: Explained

The 2008 romantic comedy What Happens in Vegas features a wedding scene in which two strangers, Jack and Joy, discover they married each other after a drunken night in Las Vegas. The movie stars Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, who have been described as being drunk in real life during the filming of the wedding scene.

Jack and Joy's drunken wedding

Before they can divorce, Jack uses a quarter that Joy gives him to play the slot machines. He wins a three-million-dollar jackpot, and Joy reminds him that, as his wife, she is entitled to half of the money. The pair return to New York and attempt to divorce, but the judge declares that they must attempt to co-exist for six months and attend weekly marriage counselling sessions. If they still want to divorce after six months, they can each keep half the winnings. However, if either party does not cooperate, the money will be tied up in litigation.

Back at Jack's house, the newlyweds devise schemes to undermine each other, such as cancelling counselling sessions and inviting people over to seduce their spouse. Despite their efforts, Jack and Joy find themselves developing an unexpected attraction to one another.

The $3 million jackpot

In the 2008 romantic comedy "What Happens in Vegas", starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, two strangers, Jack and Joy, wake up in Vegas to discover that they not only got lucky—they got married! The story revolves around the two mismatched strangers who, after a night of drunken debauchery, find themselves married and fighting over a $3 million slot machine jackpot won using a quarter that belonged to Joy.

The movie begins with Joy, a driven career woman, being dumped by her fiancé, Mason, at a surprise birthday party she threw for him. Meanwhile, Jack, a goofy carpenter, is fired by his boss, who is also his father. Feeling dejected, both decide to go to Las Vegas to forget their troubles. Due to a computer error, they are given the same hotel room and end up partying and drinking together. The next morning, they wake up to discover they got married and decide to get an annulment.

Before they can annul the marriage, Jack uses a quarter given to him by Joy to play the slot machine and wins the $3 million jackpot. Joy reminds him that they are married, and she is entitled to half of the money. The couple returns to New York and attempts to divorce, but the judge declares that they cannot divorce until they attempt to co-exist for six months while attending weekly marriage counselling sessions. If they work on the marriage but still want to divorce after six months, they can each keep half the winnings. However, if either party does not cooperate, the money will be tied up in litigation.

Determined to get their hands on the full jackpot, Jack and Joy devise cunning schemes to undermine each other. Jack tells Joy that their counselling session is cancelled to prove she's not committed, while Joy invites girls to their apartment to seduce him and throws a party. Despite their efforts to drive each other away, they find themselves developing an unexpected attraction to one another and realize that being together has brought out the best in both of them.

As the six months come to an end, the judge decides to split the remaining $1.4 million (after taxes, bills, and other expenses) between Jack and Joy. Joy, however, tells the judge that she doesn't want any of the money and gives back her engagement ring to Jack, stating that she wants nothing from him. Realizing his feelings for Joy, Jack sets out to find her and proposes to her again, and she accepts.

The judge's ruling

In the movie "What Happens in Vegas", Judge R. D. Whopper rules that the newlywed couple, Joy and Jack, cannot divorce until they have lived together for six months and attended marriage counselling sessions. The judge's ruling is an attempt to encourage the couple to work on their marriage and determine if they can make it work.

During the six months, the couple is ordered to attend regular counselling sessions with Dr. Twitchell, a marriage counsellor. The judge's ruling also states that if the couple works on their marriage but still wants to divorce after the six-month period, each spouse will be allowed to keep half of the $3 million slot machine jackpot that Jack won using Joy's quarter before their divorce. On the other hand, if either party does not cooperate during the six-month period, the money will remain tied up in litigation.

At the end of the six-month period, the couple returns to court, and the marriage counsellor testifies that they attempted to work on their marriage. The judge then rules that the couple will split the remaining $1.4 million after taxes, bills, and other expenses are deducted from the original $3 million jackpot.

Scheming against each other

Jack and Joy, now married, devise cunning schemes to undermine each other and get their hands on the entirety of the $3 million slot machine jackpot. Jack tells Joy that their counselling session is cancelled to prove that she is not committed to making the marriage work. Joy invites girls to their apartment to try to seduce Jack and throws a party where his friend, Dave, shows up. Jack gives Joy's ex-fiancé, Mason, her engagement ring back without her knowing.

Joy, on the other hand, is not to be outdone. She is determined to get her fair share of the money and makes sure Jack knows it. She goes as far as to make him sleep on the couch and refuses to cook or clean for him. She also makes him pay for everything, including the groceries and bills. Joy even goes as far as to threaten to burn all his clothes if he doesn't start taking the marriage seriously.

Despite their scheming, Jack and Joy find themselves developing an unexpected attraction to one another. They soon realize that being with each other has brought out the best in both of them. However, their plans to undermine each other continue until the very end, with Joy only realizing that Jack set her up with Mason to cheat on him and guarantee their divorce on her way to the final hearing.

Falling in love

In the 2008 romantic comedy "What Happens in Vegas", starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, the protagonists Joy and Jack fall in love in an unexpected way.

After being dumped by her fiancé, Mason, at a surprise birthday party she threw for him, Joy McNally, a driven career woman, travels to Las Vegas with her best friend Tipper to forget her troubles. Meanwhile, Jack Fuller, a laid-back carpenter who was fired by his father, also heads to Sin City with his friend Hater to drown his sorrows.

Due to a computer error, Joy and Jack are given the same hotel room, and after clearing up the misunderstanding, they end up partying and drinking together. The next morning, they wake up to discover that they got married, which they both want to annul. However, before they can do so, Jack uses a quarter given to him by Joy to play a slot machine and wins a three million dollar jackpot.

Realizing that she is entitled to half of the money as his wife, Joy decides to stay married to Jack as they return to New York. However, their attempts to divorce are thwarted by a judge who declares that they must attempt to co-exist for six months and attend weekly marriage counselling sessions. During this time, the newlyweds devise schemes to undermine each other, such as inviting Jack's ex-fiancé, Mason, back into Joy's life.

Despite their initial reluctance to be together, Joy and Jack unexpectedly find themselves attracted to each other during a work retreat. They realize that being with each other has brought out the best in them, and they fall in love.

At the final hearing, the judge decides to split the remaining money between them. Joy declines her share and walks away from Mason, giving the engagement ring back to Jack and telling him she wants nothing from him. Jack, realizing his mistake, goes to find Joy and proposes to her again, and she accepts.

Frequently asked questions