Now onto Cage’s first leading role, portraying Randy in Valley Girl. It is the 1983 version of Romeo and Juliet and, honestly, the Cage isn’t the weirdest part of this film. There are the classic Cage-isms that he will hone in on for future works but there is also a very horny mum, peanut butter on sushi, and one of the best soundtracks of all time featuring new wave classics like Love My Way by the Psychedelic Furs and I Melt With You by Modern English.
Rumble Fish is another one of his uncle’s films, and often people say Nicolas Cage is a bad actor but holy shit Matt Dillon sucks too. Maybe Uncle Frank isn’t as good a director as we think he is. The Cage doesn’t have a big enough part to remark on his performance. Racing with the Moon has Nic starring in a supporting role to Sean Penn, and he has a great performance. I think this is the first showing of Cage’s talent as an actor. He works comedically and dramatically, so I recommend this if you want some early Cage.
The next film is another Coppola epic, The Cotton Club, where the Cage is the brother of a jazz musician who saves a gangster’s life and becomes involved in the scene. The movie was made in 1984 and is set in the ‘20s, so the Cage says the N-word a lot. Sadly, it’s the best Coppola-Cage film so far (even if it’s two hours long).
Nicolas Cage screams “Birdy I can’t swim!” in the film Birdy where his friend likes birds and thinks he is a bird. He also says, “No! We’re talking tits here. Big tits, round tits, fleshy tits, full tits.” He then continues arguing with his friend about tits. This may sound stupid but honestly this is the best film so far, as this dramedy about the Vietnam War and its trauma brings the best out of Cage with a performance that is both sincere and aware of its content. Essential watching for Nic Cage fans. I can’t say the same for the film The Boy in Blue. This film is like the worst and most boring parts of all the Rocky movies but it's about rowing. Cage wastes a good performance on a dull story.
Peggy Sue Gets Married is another Cage-Coppola partnership.The film is mainly set in 1960, so Cage has a weird nasally voice and bleach blonde hair. He sounds like Milhouse from The Simpsons. A film that is enjoyable to watch but distracts you with Cage’s bizarre existence in it. Also, he says “intercourse” instead of sex and says “wang” instead of literally any other word for penis. Raising Arizona is a comedy/crime/drama written by the Coen Brothers and Cage’s best acting to date. He has an understated performance that works well for the film's funny premise (he steals a kid because he and his wife can’t have children).
Moonstruck was the breakthrough film for the Cage, for some reason. It’s a cool film. He falls in love with Cher even though she’s engaged to his brother. He’s got a wooden hand that is not super relevant. It’s a nice film, very Italian. It felt rewarding to get to a stage where the Cage was the star of the show rather than a blur in the background.
Cageiness: Kicked up a gear
Welfare Check: Mainly bored
Total Films Watched: 15/137