Falling Out of Love

It has happened more than once, and always unexpectedly. Sitting in the car listening to the radio, or at my desk with my iPod on shuffle, I hear a song and immediately cringe. 

It's a song by a band I used to like, maybe even love, but I can't help my physical reaction to it now. As I drove to work this morning I heard a commercial for a concert: "See U2! with Florence and the Machine" to which I thought "Ugh, I like Florence but I don't think I'm willing to sit through U2 for her, am I? No, no I am not." This made me wonder, at what point did I go from liking U2 to finding them intolerable even to hear about? Certainly the album Pop didn't help (they lost me at catorce). When I was younger I liked them quite a bit, and now all I can think of is how absurd Bono has become. During the next radio commercial break one of their songs started playing and I rolled my eyes. I remember watching the movie Taken about a year or two ago with a few people, and what we found most unbelievable in that film - which was nothing if not a string of unbelievable scenes - was the very notion that any teenage girls would want to go to Europe to follow U2 on tour. Of all bands, honestly? That's who Hollywood thinks young girls want to listen to? I digress. U2's recent involvement in the failed Spiderman musical only made my dislike of them more intense, as I found myself shaking my head and wondering how they went from that Irish rock band singing about the Easter Uprising to self-important has-beens, the butt of many a Conan joke.

I also find I now have a similar aversion to Muse, a band I used to intensely love. I hate to play the "I liked them before they were popular" game, but hey, I did, and well, there has been a inverse correlation between their rising popularity and the decrease in the quality of their music. They hit a wall. I started listening to Muse back in college, and even though Showbiz sounds like they spent too much time listening to Pablo Honey before recording it, I felt they had developed a distinct sound and I could not stop listening to Absolution. It became one of my all-time favorite albums. I went to see them in concert a few years ago, and most people's response when I told them I was going to see Muse was a confused "Who?" The concert, one of the best I've ever been to, was at the Patriot Center and was at the most 1/3 full. (honestly, closer to 1/4 full). 

Then their latest album came out, and I could not have been more underwhelmed as all the songs blended into each other. I did not recognize them. It sounded like another band. It was so over-produced, tame, and well, ridiculous. The lyrics were simplistic, the guitar repetitive and obvious. Anyone could have made that album. And THAT's the album that they have become famous for. They won awards, got invited to perform at lots of shows, got showered with praise. I don't just think the album is mediocre, I actually don't like listening to it. At all. When I hear one of the songs on the radio I change the station. When one of the tracks (Usually Resistance or Uprising) is used in a commercial or trailer I count it as points against whatever the trailer is advertising. I scoffed as people began to post about Muse on Facebook as if they were some new band just invented by MTV. I am all for artists I like succeeding, but it's sad when that success comes at the price of the very music I liked them for in the first place.  I was annoyed because for years I had told people about them, and now I didn't even want to hear them anymore - I was embarrassed for people to think that's the band I've recommended. I also wondered if people who love The Resistance would even like earlier albums because they sound so different.

After thinking about this, I realized this isn't exclusive to music - there are many TV shows, actors and authors I have lost interest in over the years. For instance, The Simpsons used to be one of my favorite shows. I wasn't allowed to watch it, but I did anyway, for about 9 and a half or 10 seasons. Now, I can't even stand seeing commercials for new episodes. I tried to sit through the movie, but it was pretty terrible. The same is true of Saturday Night Live. I used to think the show was funny, but now even seeing the ads for upcoming episodes elicits a sigh of contempt and a desire to watch an old Phil Hartman skit. Similarly, I was fine with Tom Cruise when he was Maverick, LeStat or Daniel Kaffee, but now trailers for his new movies cause me to sneer.

So now I wonder, why do I get annoyed when I encounter these things I used to enjoy? I have outgrown many things in life that I don't react negatively to now.  The fact that I no longer read The Berenstain Bears or James Herriot's novels, or that I haven't seen an episode of Sesame Street in years doesn't mean I can't stand hearing about them, and I certainly don't begrudge other people for liking them. In fact, I think of them fondly because of the happiness they brought me. So, I am resolved. I will no longer be annoyed with entertainment that disappoints me. Here's to indifference!*


*Despite my new indifference to my own lost loves, I want to hear about yours, so tell me about them in the comments section!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Hair) of Nicolas Cage

Recently, I saw two movies in theaters just weekends apart. What made the experiences so similar, aside from the overpriced tickets and outrageous concession prices? Terrible trailers for two new Nicolas Cage movies that elicited similar reactions from the audience. I realized that my immediate instinct upon seeing Mr. Cage on the screen was to roll my eyes. This made me think, why does he elicit these reactions from people? So I got to thinking about his career, and this is what I came up with.

The Good

On occasion, he is so over the top and seemingly earnest that one wonders if he's in on the joke of how bad his acting is in that film. Now, some would argue that he is just empirically a bad actor.  I say this isn't the case. Take The Weather Man. Not a good movie, but Cage is restrained and understated, and delivers what is in my mind one of his best roles. Given the right script, costars, and directors, he can actually pull off a decent performance. So here are my favorites. (Before we even start, no, I did not include Con-Air, because while the rest of the cast seems to understand they are in a mindless popcorn flick, he seems to be genuinely attempted to bring a level of pathos to his character.)

1. Moonstruck

The entire movie is intentionally over-dramatic, between Danny Aiello's weeping and Cher's screaming, but even in this film, in which the Italian-American stereotypes runneth over, no one holds a candle to Nic Cage. Depending on your perspective of whether he realizes he's being a ham or not, he gives what is either the greatest comedic performance or the worst dramatic performance of his career, especially in this scene. Do yourself a favor, watch it all the way to the end:



2. Kick-Ass

He shoots his twelve-year-old daughter in the chest. He is disappointed when she asks for a puppy as a birthday gift, and relieved when she reveals it's just a joke and that she really wants knives. He dresses like Batman and destroys countless henchmen in painful ways. He's completely ridiculous, and yet, totally believable as both a vigilante and a devoted father.



3. Adaptation

To be fair, involvement in Charlie Kaufman projects tends to elevate otherwise intolerable actors to some of the better performances of their careers. (See: Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich.) Still, playing dual roles as twin brothers, Cage pulls off not one but two solid performances. His portayal of each brother is nuanced and convincing, to the point that you can easily forget they are both Nic Cage, and actually feel for the characters.



Honorable mention:  Peggy Sue Got Married

If you have not seen this, I urge you to watch it if for nothing other than to hear Cage speak in...well, whatever that voice is supposed to be. And you also get to hear him sing...



The Bad

The examples above makes one ask, why is the rest of his filmography is essentially a string of one bad movie after another? For every Raising Arizona there are three Captain Corelli's Mandolins. His films have frequently bombed at the box office. Just look at the last 10 years on Rotten Tomatoes.  Look at some of those ratings! I've never even heard of some of these movies! Which explains the reactions to his trailers I witnessed recently.

A few weeks ago my fiance and I went with my cousin to see RED, in a pretty full theater. Before the movie started, a trailer began for a new movie with Nic Cage about a guy who escapes from hell. Immediately, grumbling began by my fellow movie-goers. "Is this a sequal to Ghost Rider?" and "WTF" were the most frequently asked questions. As the trailer progressed, after hearing that actress' awful accent and the devil showing up to taunt Nic Cage, many began to ask "Is this for real?" and "Is this a fake trailer?" Finally, once we were all good and confused, the title Drive Angry 3-D appeared on the screen. A hush fell over the crowd, and then I and the man in front of me simply said in unison "Wow," and everyone laughed. The movie looks terrible. It was a unifying experience for us as an audience, and later at dinner we all joked about how unforgettably terrible the trailer was. Observe:



So it was uncanny that the next weekend when the same group went to see Harry Potter, we were treated to another Cage trailer. This time, he's a Crusader, with gross hair (and for some reason Ron Perlman?). The plot wasn't really clear in the trailer, unless of course the movie is as much of a mess as the trailer makes it seem. So, Cage is a crusader, trying to transport this poor girl being accused of witchcraft, only...wait! She is a witch, and she summons demons of hell to fight crusaders? What? In any case, the audience was cracking up. Here, watch for yourself:



So basically that's two back-to-back non-sensical trailers for movies in which Nic Cage transports young girls and the devil is involved. Right.

The Ugly

I don't think I need to elaborate up this point too much, as it is fairly self-evident: in 99.68% of his films, Cage's hair is atrocious. Con-Air. National Treasure (Those sideburns!). Adaptation. The Sorcerer''s Apprentice. Both of his upcoming films.

So finally, we must ask this question:  Does Nicolas Cage make bad movies, or does Nicolas Cage make movies bad?