Obviously Wicker Man Is Included

October 6, 2023 12:54 PM

If I was to watch, say, 12 Nicholas Cage movies, what should they be?

A friend wanted to deep-dive Nicholas Cage with me, but there are like . . . dozens of movies, somehow.

This kind of came from me watching Face/Off for the first time, which is fun and ridiculous and stupid, and also the whole movie is Nicholas Cage just kinda vibing. So I guess what I'm looking for is: (a) what would give a sense of his career in a nutshell, while (b) giving us some peak ridiculousness, while (c) including some good movies and some bad movies.

posted by kensington314 to Society & Culture (56 answers total)

Response by poster: Just posting this made me miss DirtyOldTown a bit.
posted by kensington314 at 12:55 PM on October 6, 2023 [9 favorites]

Mandy. Then watch it eleven more times.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 12:57 PM on October 6, 2023 [8 favorites]

Mandatory:
Vampire's Kiss
Joe
posted by nanny's striped stocking at 12:57 PM on October 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

Raising Arizona
posted by edencosmic at 1:01 PM on October 6, 2023 [44 favorites]

Moonstruck
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:06 PM on October 6, 2023 [27 favorites]

ConAir for Nic Cage as action hero.

Adaptation for Nic Cage as fictional Charlie Kaufmann and his even more fictional identical twin Donald.

Matchstick Men for Nic Cage as conman.
posted by ewok_academy at 1:06 PM on October 6, 2023 [4 favorites]

Adaptation, Wild At Heart, The Rock, Con-Air.

I couldn't stop laughing in the theater when I watched Wicker Man. A couple of old ladies shushed me.

Edit: more serious vibe -- Leaving Las Vegas
posted by extramundane at 1:09 PM on October 6, 2023 [6 favorites]

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a goddamn hoot. Con Air because that accent is just *chef's kiss.* Raising Arizona is a do not miss. National Treasure because it's fun cheese that works.
posted by Kitteh at 1:11 PM on October 6, 2023 [20 favorites]

Valley Girl
Raising Arizona
Wild at Heart
Pig
Mandy
and I kind of hate to recommend it but Renfield is up there
posted by nicwolff at 1:11 PM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

absolutely raising arizona - also wild at heart! seconding mandy and con air, i also really enjoyed his performance in ‘kick ass’ (2010), probably the unbearable weight of massive talent is worth throwing in the mix for a list like this.
posted by chives at 1:13 PM on October 6, 2023 [6 favorites]

Raising Arizona
Moonstruck
Vampire's Kiss
Wild at Heart
Leaving Las Vegas
The Rock
Con Air
8MM
Bringing Out the Dead
Adaptation.
Drive Angry
Mandy

But also just dip at random a couple times -- it's usually fun.

(And I didn't quite follow the assignment. Those are 12 good movies, in my opinion.)
posted by paper chromatographologist at 1:13 PM on October 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

Was just going to say The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, quite ridiculous and very Cage-meta. Maybe it could finish off your list.
posted by credulous at 1:14 PM on October 6, 2023 [6 favorites]

Leaving Las Vegas
Bringing out the dead
Rumble fish
National treasure
Moonstruck

Watch The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent last
posted by Illusory contour at 1:18 PM on October 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

I'm not sure it's ridiculous, but I've got a place in my heart for City of Angels.
posted by hydra77 at 1:21 PM on October 6, 2023 [8 favorites]

Prisoners of the Ghostland is a must
posted by not just everyday big moggies at 1:23 PM on October 6, 2023

I'm just here to say Raising Arizona again.
posted by phunniemee at 1:24 PM on October 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

In order of release:

1987 Raising Arizona
1995 Leaving Las Vegas
1996 The Rock
1997 Con Air
1997 Face/Off
2004 National Treasure

2005 The Weather Man
2007 Ghost Rider
2010 Kick-Ass

And a few that I've yet to watch:
1999 Bringing Out the Dead
2018 Mandy
2021 Pig
2022 The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
posted by zenon at 1:27 PM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Raising Arizona, The Rock and ConAir. I'm looking forward to Renfield.
posted by SPrintF at 1:28 PM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

The Weather Man is remarkably underrated (and pretty understated, come to think of it).
posted by General Malaise at 1:31 PM on October 6, 2023 [4 favorites]

You have to watch the first 45 minutes of Drive Angry. It's like a 16 year old boy's fantasy was made into a movie. The rest turns into a more regular-ish action movie.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:31 PM on October 6, 2023

Birdy gives you a window into a different career Cage could have had.
posted by latkes at 1:35 PM on October 6, 2023 [5 favorites]

Vampires Kiss is probably my number one recommendation. It's a truly surreal movie that is deeply uncomfortable to watch at times, but also extremely comical at others. The bizarre affected accent, the acting choices, everything makes it a memorable performance. Also the trailer tries to make it seem like a yuk yuk goof em up comedy about a waaaaaacky office guy! It is not that, at least not in the way they are positing.

I'd definitely pair it with Mandy to see unhinged Cage at wildly different points in his career.
posted by Ferreous at 1:41 PM on October 6, 2023

Bad Lieutenant, people!
posted by kickingtheground at 1:46 PM on October 6, 2023 [8 favorites]

I thought Pig was very good, but Raising Arizona is my favorite.
posted by FencingGal at 1:49 PM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

How has nobody mentioned Peggy Sue Got Married? This is a requirement for peak weirdness. He is so much weirder than everyone else in the movie. You also need Valley Girl. Sorry, but I don't make the rules.

Be sure to cap the whole thing off with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, please, you won't regret it.
posted by pazazygeek at 1:51 PM on October 6, 2023 [11 favorites]

Oh but I'd say for many of my biggest cage recommendations like vampire's kiss, wild at heart, mandy, bad lieutenant etc, I would put a blanket content warning about sexual threats and violence. All of them can get extremely dark but are worth engaging with if you're comfortable doing so.
posted by Ferreous at 1:52 PM on October 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

Pig really is just so underrated, a hidden gem in which his performance is just astonishing. It would truly pair well with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent as two examples of the dual sides of his current career, and would pair well with his other classic, the-performance-itself-is-not-the-joke Cage performances like Leaving Las Vegas on one end of that spectrum and Moonstruck on the other.

Pig is on my short list of movies that I simply adored and will never, ever be able to watch again because it's very sad, so you might want to look at a spoiler site like https://www.doesthedogdie.com/. (I realize the URL itself sounds like a significant spoiler, but the site covers a wide variety of sensitivities, content warnings, and trigger warnings).
posted by neutralhydrogen at 2:00 PM on October 6, 2023

Huge fan of Cage!

HATED Pig. It's universally praised but I don't get it. Thought the film was weak and manipulative, and greatly unsatisfying both as a film and a Cage film.

Vampires Kiss is great but be warned, some of it is pretty ugly and there is a sexual assault scene. Worth it though, ultimately, it's just one I don't watch a lot.

Con Air is great, some cringey racism and archetype parts. Face Off is peak action entertainment, a must see, and one I would point to as something so quintessentially American Action Film as to be unmissable.

Knowing is not a great movie but a really cheesy one of his. As is Red Rock West. Both are well worth watching in my book for the yuks.

Mandy is amazing but also brutal and artsy. Bringing Out The Dead, the same.

Beware of any (many!) of his lesser known films where he plays a dad who saves a kid or protects a kid or saves his family or protects his family. There are likely dozens at this point and they are lazy and cheap. I tried watching all his films at one point and in my notebook these all had an eyeball with a cross through it - meaning, unwatchable. You can usually tell from the synopsis.
posted by tiny frying pan at 2:06 PM on October 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

In chronological order:

Valley Girl
Rumble Fish
Raising Arizona
Moonstruck
Wild at Heart
Honeymoon in Vegas
Red Rock West
Leaving Las Vegas
Bringing Out the Dead
Adaptation
Matchstick Men
Joe
posted by box at 2:27 PM on October 6, 2023

Peggy Sue got married is a sleeper hit.
posted by tafetta, darling! at 2:36 PM on October 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

I think the key to being a Nic Cage fan is to start ridiculous, build to high-quality, then dive back into absurd.

With that curve established, I would propose the following arc:

Act 1: He is ridiculous
National Treasure
Con Air
The Rock
Face/Off (if rewatching)

Act 2: He is good?
Moonstruck
Lord of War
Raising Arizona
Adaptation (my personal fave)

Act 3: He is life
Gone in 60 Seconds
Ghost Rider
Vampire's Kiss
Matchstick Men

Epilogue: Wickerman (True fans only)
posted by matrixclown at 2:37 PM on October 6, 2023 [12 favorites]

If you want to go by category you could do

Action
Face Off
Con Air

Romance
Moonstruck
Peggy Sue Got Married
It Could Happen To You
Valley Girl

Drama
Leaving Las Vegas
posted by brookeb at 2:51 PM on October 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

No love for Color Out of Space? Renfield? Kick Ass?
posted by kokaku at 2:53 PM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

I thought Color Out of Space was boring. Renfield I still haven't watched cause every time I start I'm like...ehhhhh. Kick Ass was fine, not a rewatch ever again for this fan.
posted by tiny frying pan at 3:06 PM on October 6, 2023

Nobody said Captain Corelli's Mandolin, either.
posted by box at 3:06 PM on October 6, 2023

I loved "Pig."

His most recent movie, "The Retirement Plan," is a huge mess and stinker of a movie. But my brother and I loved making fun of it while we watched it. It is poorly-written, poorly-edited (items teleport within a scene and the like), and just not good. But I enjoyed it.
posted by tacodave at 4:01 PM on October 6, 2023

My kid is obsessed with Knowing, which is utterly bonkers and I would totally recommend.

Notes;
Nick Cage is haunted by mystery figures who appear to be Eminem in this movie
Nick Cage appears to live in Disney’s The Haunted Mansion, this is never remarked on.
Once Nick Cage starts googling numbers or putting things on a whiteboard some really wild stuff is about to happen.

So that would be my recommendation.
posted by Artw at 4:03 PM on October 6, 2023 [6 favorites]

Definitely _Moonstruck_, one of the greatest 80s movies, and maybe all romantic comedies of all time
_Valley Girl_, a true classic of its time and guaranteed to make you smile.

I don't know most of the rest of them, I don't watch action movies and I fell asleep during Raising Arizona but I'll go to the mat for those two.
posted by fingersandtoes at 4:29 PM on October 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

In the name of all is holy and good, if you are aiming for ridiculous, FUN Nicolas Cage, please watch Renfield instead of Leaving Las Vegas.

(I’m not saying Leaving Las Vegas is bad, but it is very, very sad).
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:54 PM on October 6, 2023 [2 favorites]

I would totally cast Bette Midler as the Prince of Darkness in Redfield. Therefore, do add this blessed mess.
National Treasure 1 and 2 are fine for those of us wanting an Indiana Jones fix.
Con Air, Moonstruck, The Rock, and Leaving Arizona are as much for costars as Cage.
posted by TrishaU at 5:52 PM on October 6, 2023

Whatever you end up watching, please add the episode of Community called Introduction to Teaching, at least the bits with A bed (which maybe you can find on YiuTube), where he becomes obsessed with Cage movies. The final scene where he loses it in class is A+++
posted by Gorgik at 6:40 PM on October 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

Willy's Wonderland, which is kind of a rip off of the Five Nights at Freddy's concept - fighting off murderous animatronic animals come to life. I still haven't decided if it's good or bad.

Nthing Matchstick Men, which I would actually put in the "he is good" arc. It's a well done caper flick (directed by Ridley Scott, with bonus Sam Rockwell) where Cage believably creates a character that is odd but not WTF.

Drive Angry starts slow but spends most of its time in WTF over-the-top territory.

Both Ghost Rider movies are utterly skippable.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:48 PM on October 6, 2023

I find him hard to watch but oh man he is DIVINE in Moonstruck.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:28 PM on October 6, 2023 [3 favorites]

Adding votes for Peggy Sue Got Married and Rumble Fish. Especially Rumble Fish since that was an early role thanks to his uncle. And it is a great movie.
posted by perhapses at 8:49 PM on October 6, 2023

Trapped in Paradise
Raising Arizona
Peggy Sue Got Married
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Moonstruck
posted by soelo at 9:26 PM on October 6, 2023

If you have any love of horror, Mandy is a must-watch. It’s spectacular.
posted by mr_roboto at 9:58 PM on October 6, 2023

2018 Mandy
2021 Pig
2022 The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

The Nicholas Cage renaissance - - what a glorious time to be alive!
posted by fairmettle at 4:31 AM on October 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah, and 'Teen Titans Go to the Movies'. Cage finally got to play Superman. A hoot of a film.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 6:36 AM on October 7, 2023

Red Rock West
Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans
Adaptation
Leaving Arizona
posted by porn in the woods at 9:21 AM on October 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Another kick for Bad Lieutenant PoCNO. Fun wonky cop flick by Werner Herzog. With reptiles!
posted by ovvl at 8:32 PM on October 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Must include the action trifecta of The Rock, Con Air & Face/Off and Pig.
posted by alby at 11:30 PM on October 7, 2023

Another vote for Birdy here - it's an early work, where he's more of a "straight man". If you're a Peter Gabriel fan you'll also recognize the soundtrack (Peter did it, adapting some of his own work; it came out before So so it's earlier stuff).

(DOT buttoned? What?)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:06 AM on October 8, 2023

(Re DOT: I am fine but MeFi is a bit mean-spirited for me these days. A bit circular firing squad.

And, I mean, relatable. I'd probably rather watch a movie than read MetaTalk comments myself.)

Also Dream Scenario looks like it might be good.
posted by box at 7:17 AM on October 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

Planning a 12 Days of Cage-mas, are you?

I feel like we might be on the same Discord server.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 10:57 AM on October 8, 2023

Color out of Space IS NOT BORING. My God. It's devastating. Horrifying. Fantastic.

I loved him in Kick-Ass but can't stand that it was clearly, obviously filmed in Toronto but set in the US. I hate this so, so much. But that's another topic.

I'd love to see Nick Cage play himself but with his real name. He's a Coppola, a nepo baby, and see his character address privilege in the entertainment industry. Sofia can direct. That would be amazing.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 8:36 AM on October 10, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks everyone, for your thoughts on this! I ranked the number of times movies were suggested here, and then made an effort to weigh that against genre and decade, and came up with this:

Nick Cage, Action Star
The Rock (1996)
Con Air (1997)
Red Rock West (1993)

Nick Cage, Drama Star
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Pig (2021)
Birdy (1984)

Nick Cage, Comedy Star
Raising Arizona (Black Comedy) (1987)
Moonstruck (Romantic Comedy) (1987)
Bad Lieutenant (Accidental Comedy?) (2009)

Nick Cage, Unhinged Lunatic Movie Star
Vampire's Kiss (1988)
Wicker Man (2006)
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

Face/Off and Adaptation are left off because everyone has seen these, and I might add Kiss of Death on the recommendation of a friend.
posted by kensington314 at 10:18 AM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]