Nicholas Cage sends himself up in this self-referential action-comedy caper
Image: Lionsgate
Premise
A down-and-out Nicholas Cage finds a glimmer of hope in an assignment where he is to attend a party of a mysterious fan (Pedro Pascal) in return for a million dollars. After an awkward beginning, the two quickly develop an unlikely friendship, until the CIA (Tiffany Haddish) pressurize Cage to spy on Pascal because they believe him to be the head of a ruthless drugs cartel.
Opinion
It says a lot about Nicholas Cage that he is prepared to take the micky out of himself and his oeuvres quite as much as he does in this movie. In a way the facetious title says it all.
Cage’s backstory is that he is down and out: failing career, failed marriage, alienated teenage daughter. All he has left is to ham up his auditions, and talk about himself and pretentious old silent films like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. No-one, however, seems to be interested in what he has to say, least of all his ex-wife and daughter.
Along comes a meal-ticket in the form of a party in Mallorca to meet a fan who has written a screenplay for Cage. After resisting the call to adventure momentarily, and desperate for one million dollars when he is finally locked out of his hotel penthouse apartment for debt, Cage takes the pay-check and attends the party.
He is met by Pedro Pascal, who plays the fawning star-struck Cage fan with just the right level of intensity so it doesn’t become too absurdly cringy, interspersed with frissons of tight malice so you are never quite clear what his real intentions might be.
Cage plays himself with a joyous self-awareness that never quite descends to the slapstick but translates from time to time into some of those magnificent trademark disbelieving looks.
Cage is often at his best when ironically confronted with his previous works: be it clips of Con Air, references to the bunny, a mirror scene like Face Off, or those beautiful golden guns. When he sees those his visage says it all: my host isn’t just a fan, he’s an obsessive.
Sharon Horgan plays Cage’s ex-wife competently, but it was probably not the most stretching role and arguably she cruised through most of it. Lily Mo Sheen plays Cage’s stroppy teenage daughter – well, like a stroppy teenage daughter. It’s a trite performance at first, but by the end she blossoms.
The two most joyous moments in this text for me where Cage and Pascal find themselves discussing how to structure the third act of Pascal’s screenplay, only to find that they are suddenly playing it out for real.
Again, in a symbol reflecting his character arc development, Cage by the end of the movie finds himself watching Paddington 2 with his daughter rather than The Cabinet of Dr Caligari alone. That moment didn’t quite bring a tear to my eye, but it did make me break out in a wistful smile with a warming pause for thought.
In summary, this film is a must for Nicholas Cage fans, and a well worth seeing for anyone looking for a good night out. Because I am a little bit of a Cage fan myself, it gets five stars from me, but I am biased.
Whatever, hats off to him for being such a good sport.
Comentários