Nic Cage touches on something I've never seen from any other actor.
I have a theory that the people who like (or appreciate, anyway) Cage are people that have known people like him, which are people that don't quite fit into society properly, and tend to embarass themselves tragically. When you know these people, and you see them in public, you feel really bad for them because you know something really embarassing is going to happen, and it causes a pretty significant degree of apprehension in you. Nic Cage is the only actor to duplicate that sense of tension in a performance. You know the explosion is coming. You can see the tank shaking violently. You feel bad for him and for everyone around him for what is about to happen, but you are helpless to stop it.
Cage's acting can make a really awful movie be somewhat fun and tolerable. He has been making some really atrocious movies, i guess because of his tax problems. When an actor is saying "yes" to 8 out of 10 scripts he gets, quality is long out of the window.
I heard an interview with Mr Cage today discussing the latest Ghost Rider film; he reckons that nothing gives him greater pleasure than making a film that pisses off the critics. I wish I could believe that that was a sincere statement rather than the economic facts of life.
Nicholas Cage remains endearing in the same way that people love Diamond Dallas Page. You can hate the character all you want but don't forget; they go home to their wives and/or children and they still act like that. There is no downtime. They really are their gimmick for real.
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