Over the course of the last decade, Nicolas Cage's career has taken a weird turn. The former Oscar winner seemed to be back on top, making the National Treasure movies and seemingly on his way to movie star status. And then all of the drama. Money was tight, he had terrible spending habits and had to keep the bread baking. Questionable choices on top of questionable choices. The only thing that seemed to be consistent was every few films, we get a pretty good performance. And then the revolution on social media of commenting on terrible films and appreciating there awfulness became a trend, and people started noticing that even Cage's "bad" films exuded a certain energy. People rightfully gave him credit for giving it his all even for the straight to video fare he did because he had a couple weeks off between other projects. The summation of this bizarre trajectory comes to a peak in this role.
Needless to say, this was the role Cage was meant to play...that being himself. It's always brilliant to see just how far someone will take their art and even lampoon themselves in the process. In the past, we saw Jean-Claude Van Damme do it with JCVD, which caused a bit of an eruption because it was a film about him, but the film was openly mocking him. If not for the heartfelt scene where Van Damme laid everything out and gave insight into his motivations, we understand just how difficult such self reflection can be. Michael Keaton also did this in Birdman, taking a swipe at his most famous character in an attempt to rid himself of his past and take on a new persona for his future. It worked, for he is back in big productions again and even won an Oscar. With Nicolas Cage, what is the commentary going to be?
For a Nicolas Cage super fan like me, this movie was a joy to watch. They whipped out some deep references in this film, and Cage seemed to take joy in lampooning his own performances. I forgot how much Cage goes "full Cage" in Guarding Tess, which is a helpful reminder that he was pretty much the guy that was in offbeat comedies for the longest time. And of course, Cage's inability to handle accents is lampooned hilariously, especially when the characters openly love Captain Corelli's Mandolin, an absolute train wreck of bad accents and over the top mannerisms.
What I especially love is how well Pedro Pascal and Cage interact with each other. You can tell they enjoyed the experience and had a boatload of fun with the material. Also, the bizarre interactions that Cage has with himself (you heard that correctly) are amazing.
Many will say his was a just an ego trip for Cage, but when you see his recent body of work you get the feeling that was the intent. The man loves to perform, regardless of the project. As long as he gets some top billing and as long as people keep watching, why wouldn't he get a little big headed? Cage has definitely walked a strange route and seems fully committed to that journey, and as long as he has the chance to keep making unique projects and bring his "nouveau shamanic" acting method to the forefront, I will continue to enjoy many of the strange outings he participates in.
