Nicolas Cage

M.P asks, "Miss Kitty...

I find myself sitting here watching a video entitled "Nic Cage loses his shit," which consists of edits from all manner of films he's appeared in, having full-on freak outs. It got me thinking. We have here an actor who's undeniably brave, and willing to go to any extreme the character suggests to him. It's a level of skill and commitment that cannot be undervalued.Yet, it's coupled with a choice of roles/films that seems to be idiotically random. I mean, we have intense and well-done things like Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation, and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, but also embarrassing money-grubbing like the National Treasure films. We have to stand in awe of his genius-quirky performances in things like Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, or Kiss of the Vampire. I don't even fault him for mis-steps like Ghost Rider, explained by his honest love for comic books, or high-caliber trash like Con Air or The Rock, everybody wants to make fun movies from time to time. However, no amount of any sort of re-evaluation will ever explain saying yes to that Wicker Man re-make, and when the script or the production fails, then all of his gooney-bird oddness just seems indulgent and ridiculous.

So, here's the rub...Is Nicolas Cage an actor to be admired or not?

Wow, you're good with the imdb, aren't you? Either that or you seem to have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with Mr. Cage. Who himself has plenty of unhealthy obsessions, so maybe it is appropriate to make him the focal point of one. Well done, M.P. Well done.

(Side note: whenever I address you as M.P., my first thought is, "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North," which exposes one of my own unhealthy obsessions, but it also makes me smile, so thanks for that.)

But the question is whether or not he is an actor to be admired and I don't know that I can answer that satisfactorily without knowing more about who is doing the admiring and what sorts of things that person tends to look for in an actor to whom they would like to look up. If one tends to look up to actors who do silly things with their hair (both on top of and on the front of their heads), then yes, by all means. Admire Mr. Cage for his mullets, his sideburns, and his Shaggy and Scrappy-Dos. If one tends to admire actors who make intelligent career choices, however, one would not be faulted for letting one's admiration expire about ten years ago, right about the time of "Face/Off." Though if one is like me and tends to admire just about any actor who can manage to get consistent work*, then yes, admire the bejesus out of him.

In regard to his actual acting talent, I can't say because I haven't worked with him. They always say that an editor can edit together a great performance for anyone (I'd love to hear Jessica Alba's thoughts on editors), so I don't know if he's able to reach those emotional depths easily or if it takes 30 takes or if he just phones it in but manages to make it look good or if once he reaches that place, it takes him the rest of the shoot to recover from it. I can't really comment on his style because I haven't worked with him. I would be more than willing to give it a shot, though. *cough, cough* If he's looking for a costar *cough, cough* I could probably be available. *cough, cough* I'm just sayin'.

So I guess what I'm saying is, it all depends. If you like the quirky guy with the crazy hair who portrayed great characters who made us all laugh and cry and feel things, then yes, go ahead and admire him. If you admire the guy who made it past the indie film scene where he probably had to provide his own shoes to the world of the blockbuster movie that launched his name around the world so there probably isn't anywhere he can go now where people don't recognize him, go ahead and admire him. Or maybe it should be one of those, "Do you prefer early Nic Cage work or late Nic Cage work?" questions like people ask about the Beatles. Who Mr. Cage is also kind of obsessed with.

Full circle! Yay me!

*This is not an entirely true statement, but rather an exercise in hyperbole and a little dig at myself for my current career status. Carry on.

Thank you, M.P., for your question! Keep 'em coming, guys! askmisskittyanything@gmail.com