The Tragedy That Is Nicolas Cage's Acting Career

If you hang around in any profession long enough, you're bound to fuck up somehow. You get a little full of yourself and you bend the rules. (Enron, Madoff, etc) You start to feel bullet-proof and all-powerful and you think you can get away with anything. (Clinton, Tiger, etc) You make a few enemies who feel threatened and they are happy to climb into your closet and trot out all the skeletons. (Gary Hart, every televangelist, every stick-up-the-butt right-wing moralist who turns out to like gay sex in bathrooms and massage parlors, etc) But it seems popular actors have unique possession of the spectacular self-inflicted sell-out fuck up that overshadows any earlier achievement. (Nicolas Cage, etc etc etc)

I feel particularly sad over Nicolas Cage's flaccidity as an actor these days because, damn, the guy coulda been a contender! Unforgettable the impression he made way back when in "Raising Arizona" - then fun stuff like "Moonstruck" and "Red Rock West" and others when he didn't take himself seriously - and then an Oscar-oriented, creditable, sincere effort at seriousness in "Leaving Las Vegas." And then the train derailed. "Con Air." "Face Off." "Snake Eyes." During this period weight training took the place of acting classes. He became a junkie shooting up blockbusters. Trying to maintain credibility, he barfed up movies like "Captain Corelli's Mandolin." (I would tear out my own ear canals if I was ever forced to listen to his ridiculous accent in that one again.) And then, for a moment, he got his shit together and did "Adaptation"and "Matchstick Men" and you thought, damn, Cage has remembered the whole "being-an-actor" thing. But, alas, the sanity was short-lived and along came "Ghost Rider" and "National Treasure" and a dozen other tormentingly horrid wastes of film stock. Today, whenever I see an ad for one his new movies, I snicker. Run around with a gun some more, Nic, that's the ticket.

Oh, sure, selling out for the big summer movie is a tradition. Get big enough to call the shots, pick the sure-fire popular script, and phone it in all the way to the bank. (Can you say Angelina Jolie? She seemed like an actor once, too.) It's understandable if you're skating on a thin layer of talent to begin with. But it is saddening to see an actor with something unique sucked into the vortex that leads to the dark place, where your cut of the gross means more than doing something good. And oh, sure, I know lots of these stars do the money-maker to finance their own projects, the ones about which they will say "I really believe in this script." That doesn't make it less sad when you drown your light in a sea of dung.

Oh, and by the way - there's a "Ghost Rider" sequel in the works, as well as "National Treasure 3." I feel my lunch coming up.

Comments

Free inhabitant said…
Doug Herich June 16 at 2:24am
Hey Barry, remember me? I asked you what procedure it would take to establish I was no longer a customer of the City of Napa or any other government agency. Well, I have some great news; I discovered that it is much easier than anyone would have thought, including me. The Articles of Confederation of November 15, 1777 cites that free inhabitants are entitled to all the rights and immunities of free citizens. The Articles of Confederation were NEVER repealed and remain in force of law even today, but most Americans have never read nor heard of this historical document of Organic Law. I declare myself a free inhabitant by virtue of The Articles of Confederation and hereby demand the City of Napa acknowledge my free inhabitant status. I also am making a demand that the City of Napa reimburse me for the expenses incurred by me in the course of 2 false arrests that occurred while I was domeciled in the city of Napa. Detective Don Weingard is responsible for the actions of the police officers that arrested me and this was an act of retaliation against me by a government employee. I will receive reparations for the abuse of power exercised by city of Napa employees, this I guarantee. I am not going away my friend. Government employees are bound by written law. I am an expert in your written laws and am able to support my declaration of free inhabitant status with your written law. This means the burden is on the government employee to prove the actions of Detective Weigard are within the limits set forth by government and the written law. I will be sending this same letter to you, Detective Weingard and the Chief of police, Rich Melton. I was damaged by the actions of a government employee and as such, am entitled to full restitution by the agency that has failed to recognize my free inhabitant status. As a courtesy, I am making you aware of my intent to collect from the city of Napa, the funds that were required for me to free myself from incarceration in Napa County jail. Furthermore, I intend to file civil charges against Detective Weingard and seek remedy outside of the military courts referred to as the Superior Court of California - Napa County. This remedy may include a common law jury of peers that will hear Detective Weingard should he choose to testify. This is not a threat of any kind whatsoever. It is merely my attempt to collect a debt that is owed to me by the city of Napa. The settlement may be made by you or any other city of Napa government employee but must equal the amount of damages I have incurred. The civil related charges will be brought by the people of the city of Napa and is a separate matter between myself and detective Weingard. If you feel that I have not sufficiently notified you of my declaration of free inhabitancy, you must inform me in writing of your objection and support this failure to understand with a specific question(s) and I shall do my best to accommodate your request. This notice is time stamped and dated and serves as official notification to you as an employee of the city of Napa. I look forward to resolving this debt that your employer is liable for and with all due respect, am prepared to proceed with or without your cooperation. Thank you in advance for your kind consideration and I ask that you respond in 10 days from the date of this message. Thank you.

Doug Herich
free inhabitant - Articles of Confederation of November 15, 1777
BurgerDogboy said…
Is the previous poster pitching a new Cage movie? Did you know that if you type in "Barry Has a Log", you don't get to this site?

Obviously your opinion here is amiss. Cage's much anticipated role in "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" will certainly equal Brando in "On the Waterfront," or at least Charlton Heston in "Touch of Evil."
Anonymous said…
eat another burgerdogboy... At least Cage is not hiding. Barry Martin is a tool. a government paid career yes man that is going to get educated.

Popular posts from this blog

How I have neglected my blog and the sadness that results

"Mikey Angels" flies off in both directions at once

Indians owned slaves? Did I sleep through that history lesson?