also quite heartbreaking...screenwiter minion's work (see also after hours)is easily comparable to what charlie kaufman and todd solondz are doing now...this film takes a lot of risks and is totally brilliant...give it a chance!!!
shareI COMPLETELY agree! This is definitely Cage's best and most memorable performance, in my opinion. And the script is so brilliant. I love Minion. I first became a huge fan of After Hours (and spotted all the Kafka references.) When I moved to go to NYU film school I looked him up and actually met with him for coffee and he confirmed all the Kafka obsession. I was disappointed that he was totally satisfied with this film, as to me it seems a bit poorly directed. It's no After Hours, but the script is so strong and Cage's performance brilliant enough, to carry it to classic status.
sharei agree with all of you. this film is brilliant comedy. the scenes of cage verbally abusing his secretary make me laugh everytime i see the film. and people complain about cage being over the top like it's a bad thing when its not for this film. very inspired.
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I've never laughed so hard all my life when Nicolas Cage's character was chasing pigeons for food or when he was sleeping under the couch instead of in a coffin... absolutley 100% humour about this movie..
shareI'll chime in too, this movie is hilarious, Nicolas Cage turns in a brilliant performance. Sad that some people just don't get it...
shareabcdefgHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ! hahahaha. must be the only movie where someone recites the whole alphabet
If it looks like sh!t, and it sounds like sh!t, then it must be sh!t.
Sorry, but what made this movie interesting was Cage's performance--not the screenwriter. Put anyone else in this role and the movie falls completely apart. Cage carried it as long as he could until the writer decides to make the main character rape his tormented assistant. Totally brilliant comic masterpiece? I think not--unless there is something hilarious about rape that I simply don't get. Minion's name should not be used in the same sentence as C. Kaufman. Actually, you want to see comic masterpiece? Check out Adaptation acted by Cage and penned by Kaufman.
shareNicolas Cage IS the movie, man. Alot of it drags like hell but Cage provides one of the finest performances I've ever witnessed. I picked up a copy of this and the checkout guy gave me a peculiar look like he just couldn't understand why I didn't grab Snatch or Reservoir Dogs (I have all editions of this BTW)
shareSq, I was going to go on a rant about this movie. But, now I won't cause on one hand some posters made valid points. But, mostly because you brought up Adaptation that was a brilliant film and a lot of people hate it. I don't know if I will ever hear a dial tone the same again. I also thought Cage did a great job with his dual roles.
share"rape's not funny"...well obviously not...neither is suicide or murder which are also in this film..btw, sq,he's only seeming to rape her (tearing her clothes, etc.) so that she'll shoot him...and when he gets her gun from her and shoots himself with it we get that funny/sad spewing out of the black gunpowder spit mess from the blank in her gun(actually one of the funniest/saddest moments in the film along with the scene where we see what he actually looks like pretending to talking to his therapist at the end)...that's what makes the psychology of this movie so interesting...all of his horrid behavior to his assistant is a form of suicide...i don't think it is something you see everyday in movies...and in its way,yes,this movie is just as "original" in its approach as adaptation...and for me,way funnier...
shareIn fact, the rape (and previous mistreatment of the secretary) was the very reason why I couldn't even laugh with this movie. Every time I wanted to relax and enjoy Nic's performance, Alva's torment came into the picture, which ranged from grin-what?! to honestly painful. I don't like this kind of emotional manipulation, so I decided to just stare at the movie with my mouth twisted into an awry shape. If the movie makers wanted to create this emotional yo-yo effect on me then they have miscalculated something very badly.
And yes it is rape, not just attempt at rape (he "confesses" to the rape himself, and her behavior in her room hints at some severe psychological damage, which could not have been achieved just by some squeezing and neck kissing).
all of his horrid behavior to his assistant is a form of suicide
Nice idea, but I saw his behavior rather as a very frustrated manner of showing affection or attraction. One of the first things he did was to stare at Alva's legs, even before the madness began. So his behavior with her was just another side of his inability to form relationships. Serial-killer-of-females psychology by the book.
there's a highway that is curling up like smoke above her shoulder
Rewatch the movie. He never rapes her.
shareA fantastic, criminally underrated movie. Jessica Biel is truly awful in it, but everyone else is great, especially Cage in one of his most interesting, funniest performances ever. Reminds me why I think Cage CAN be a great actor. After Hours is great too.
shareThat wans't Jessical Beal, that was Jennifer Beals.
-ClintJCL
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I also loved this movie and think it's extremely underrated. It takes a lot of risks, and I can understand that, if you go to the rental store and take it, and expect an ala-Wes-Craven vampire story, you will be very dissapointed.
I saw it on TV many years ago and it made a big impression. I think it's really smart and funny.
The scene with Nicholas Cage in front of the church with the wooden "stake" asking people to kill him, that was just so absurd I couldn't stop laughing
I've just seen it for the second time... First time was about 15 years ago, I loved it but I found it more disturbing and sad than funny. This time I've laughed a lot lot more! To say that this black satire is underrated is one big evidence. Just buy the DVD and enjoy Nicolas Cage in one of his REAL best performance. A comedic masterpiece? Yes!
The truth is the truth hurts
Don't you agree?
Normally not a fan of Nic Cage, but he is outstanding in this movie. The scene at the end of him walking through the club with the vampire teeth is priceless.
shareFirst time was about 15 years ago, I loved it but I found it more disturbing and sad than funny. This time I've laughed a lot lot more!
So the way I feel about it is just the effect of the first viewing? Good, now all I need is the slightest desire to approach it for a second time
there's a highway that is curling up like smoke above her shoulder
I have to admit, I first saw this movie one late night and only watched it because it featured the lovely Jennifer Beals, lol
But I ended up loving it! The dark humor, the sad/psychotic main character, the "Nightmare" tug of war between what's real and what's not,Cage at his crazy best! One of my favorite movies!!!