The Nicolas Cage movie he doesn’t think “deserved that much attention”
Thanks to his lengthy stint in the VOD doldrums that saw him appear in as many projects as possible in a near-superhuman effort to resolve his financial woes, Nicolas Cage has starred in many bad movies. Despite that, he remains adamant that one of them was terrible on purpose.
Remaking classic horror movies has been standard practice for a long time, but the prospect of Cage teaming with Neil LaBute to reinvent The Wicker Man was an intriguing one. At least, it wasn’t until audiences had the chance to see it for themselves that it took an absolute pasting on its way to a dismal run at the box office.
Spawning countless Cage memes for a library that was already nearing bursting point, even those who haven’t seen the actor’s deranged turn as Edward Malus are more than likely fully aware of its most noteworthy moments. Namely, when he runs around in a bear costume like a man possessed, prior to screaming “NOT THE BEES!” at the top of his lungs.
For better or worse, the reputation of 2006’s The Wicker Man is enshrined in internet folklore, and then Cage began claiming it was intended to be so thunderously stupid. Reflecting on its legacy when talking to Newsweek, the Academy Award winner took it all in his stride: “It’s a phenomenon for sure, I’m not entirely sure the movie deserved that much attention, good or bad.”
Stating his claim for the film to be reassessed as a comedy, Cage hinted that he was in on the joke all along: “It’s an ironic experience for people. I don’t think people are aware – or some of the people anyway – the movie was designed to be a bit of a black comedy. There was some irony involved in the portrayals,” he continued. “There seems to be a need by many of the folks on the internet to think that Neil LaBute and myself were completely clueless as to that fact, which was not the case.”
Having gone on record to say that “Neil and I both knew how funny it was,” the star continued to cast judgment on those who “thought the comedy was not intentional.” Whether that’s entirely accurate or not remains up for debate, but it can’t be denied that, intentionally or otherwise, The Wicker Man is hilarious.
Cage even believed he set the template from which others would follow, naming Midsommar as a particular example to IndieWire: “It probably would’ve been more clear how funny it was if Avi Lerner let me have the handlebar moustache that I wanted to wear and be burned in the bear suit,” he recalled. “That would’ve been so horrifying, but they didn’t go for that because all the comedy would’ve emerged from this horror. But Ari Aster did it brilliantly in Midsommar. That was terrifying, but they didn’t have the vision that Neil and I had for it.”
As an actor famed for committing entirely to every single performance they give regardless of quality, profile, or esteem, The Wicker Man was always going to see Cage pull out every imaginable stop, regardless of its status as either a disastrous misfire or a precision-engineered love letter to absurdity.
