Themes: Opposites Attract, Interracial/Cross-Cultural Romance, Marriages of Convenience
Main Cast: Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek, Jon Tenney, Carlos Gomez, Siobhan Fallon
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 109 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Two relative strangers try to turn a one night stand into a marriage in this romantic comedy. Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) is a designer from New York City who is sent to Las Vegas to supervise the construction of a nightclub that his firm has been hired to build. Alex is a straight-laced WASP-ish type who, while enjoying a night on the town, meets Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek), a free-spirited Mexican-American photographer. Alex and Isabel are overtaken by lust at first sight and end up spending the night together; however, their immediate attraction doesn't last in the cold light of day, and they don't see each other for another three months. When they do meet again, it's because Isabel has some interesting news for Alex: she's pregnant with his child. Alex and Isabel decide that they should do the right thing and quickly get married (with an Elvis impersonator serving as witness), but after Isabel meets Alex's mom (Jill Clayburgh), and Alex is confronted by Isabel's father (Tomas Milian), both start to wonder if "doing the right thing" was just that, especially as Alex tries to balance his career in New York with Isabel's desire to continue working in Nevada. Fools Rush In gave Matthew Perry his first big-screen starring role following his success on the TV series Friends. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
David Crank - Art Director, Steven P. Saeta - Associate Producer, Juel Bestrop - Casting, Anna Maria Davis - Co-producer, Kimberly A. Tillman - Costume Designer, Scott Printz - First Assistant Director, Andy Tennant - Director, Roger Bondelli - Editor, Michael McDonnell - Executive Producer, Alan Silvestri - Songwriter, Edward Pisoni - Production Designer, Robbie Greenberg - Cinematographer, Doug Draizin - Producer, Leslie Morales - Set Designer, Evelyne Barbier - Set Designer, Peter Devlin - Sound/Sound Designer, Katherine Reback - Screenwriter
After meeting in a bathroom line in a local restaurant, Alex (Matthew Perry) and Isabel (Salma Hayek) find an instant connection and sleep together. Three months after their one night stand in Las Vegas, Isabel finds Alex and tells him that she is pregnant. Alex and Isabel decide to get married. Problems soon arise as they meet each other's families, deal with work colleagues, and most importantly, get to know each other.
The major crisis in the movie is the couple learning to adapt to the culture of their new partner. Isabel is from a CatholicLatino family, while Alex has a straight-laced WASP family.
Before the movie was filmed, there was no Arizona/Nevada "border" painted on the highway that spans the Hoover Dam. When it was added for the movie, local officials decided to keep it intact after the filming of the movie. As of September 2005 the border painted in the street is no longer there.
Eddie Powers (who works in Las Vegas as an Elvis impersonator and does gigs at such chapels as The Silver Bell Wedding Chapel) as the Elvis impersonator.
Soundtrack
The following list of titles represents the music used in sequence with the movie.
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - Burl Ives (office Christmas party scene)
