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Dream Scenario -
I don't think I've seen a high-concept oddity like this one that I haven't loved. That especially applies to ones starring Nicolas Cage. This one captures the perils of viral fame and cancel culture in delightfully odd and funny ways. With no disrespect to the movie’s unique concept of "viral dream cameos," its parallels and likely inspirations are obvious, including Cage's own Adaptation. However, the one I thought about the most is not a movie, but a TV episode: South Park's "You Have 0 Friends." In it, Stan's online identity overshadows his real one and gets out of his control. As Cage's professor Paul Matthew's grasp of his dream identity gets looser, the resulting laughs and drama escalate in the best way. His less than successful attempts at capitalizing on his fame, including one involving an, umm...X-rated dream are the highlights for the former. His not so funny alienation from his wife, children, friends and students is not so funny, but Cage - who is in his element - is able to shift gears accordingly. Speaking of gear shifts, the final act does this in a way that makes things get even stranger, believe it or not. In short, imagine a Black Mirror episode on acid. While some have docked points from the movie because of this shift, I found it to be more feature than bug. It's a natural progression down the movie's rabbit hole.
If simply reading the phrase "cancel culture" makes you want to bang your head on your desk, you should see this movie anyway. It successfully proves that whether the Paul Matthews at issue here did anything or not, the punishment rarely, if ever, fits the crime. This recommendation also applies if the name "Nicolas Cage" makes you react similarly. Has his track record been perfect now that he's out of the doldrums of his career? No, but this is up there with Pig as one of the highlights in this stage of it. Oh, and his hairstyle in this one is not too shabby, either.
I don't think I've seen a high-concept oddity like this one that I haven't loved. That especially applies to ones starring Nicolas Cage. This one captures the perils of viral fame and cancel culture in delightfully odd and funny ways. With no disrespect to the movie’s unique concept of "viral dream cameos," its parallels and likely inspirations are obvious, including Cage's own Adaptation. However, the one I thought about the most is not a movie, but a TV episode: South Park's "You Have 0 Friends." In it, Stan's online identity overshadows his real one and gets out of his control. As Cage's professor Paul Matthew's grasp of his dream identity gets looser, the resulting laughs and drama escalate in the best way. His less than successful attempts at capitalizing on his fame, including one involving an, umm...X-rated dream are the highlights for the former. His not so funny alienation from his wife, children, friends and students is not so funny, but Cage - who is in his element - is able to shift gears accordingly. Speaking of gear shifts, the final act does this in a way that makes things get even stranger, believe it or not. In short, imagine a Black Mirror episode on acid. While some have docked points from the movie because of this shift, I found it to be more feature than bug. It's a natural progression down the movie's rabbit hole.
If simply reading the phrase "cancel culture" makes you want to bang your head on your desk, you should see this movie anyway. It successfully proves that whether the Paul Matthews at issue here did anything or not, the punishment rarely, if ever, fits the crime. This recommendation also applies if the name "Nicolas Cage" makes you react similarly. Has his track record been perfect now that he's out of the doldrums of his career? No, but this is up there with Pig as one of the highlights in this stage of it. Oh, and his hairstyle in this one is not too shabby, either.