{"id":20181829,"date":"2025-05-07T06:28:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T13:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metrosiliconvalley.com\/?p=20181829"},"modified":"2025-05-07T02:29:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T09:29:46","slug":"nicolas-cages-new-movie-cant-catch-a-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metrosiliconvalley.com\/nicolas-cages-new-movie-cant-catch-a-break\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicolas Cage\u2019s New Movie Can\u2019t Catch a Break"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nicolas Cage\u2019s character in The Surfer<\/em>, known only as The Surfer, is visiting a scenic Western Australia spot called Luna Bay with his teenage son, The Kid (played by Finn Little).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Surfer\u2019s mission is to scout out an old family property. It\u2019s the place where TS (that\u2019s what we\u2019ll call him from now on) was raised in the years before he and his family moved to America\u2014he now wants to relocate there. TS is in the midst of hasty talks with an area real estate agent to buy the place, and he\u2019s exceedingly anxious to close the deal and begin an important new phase of his family life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course we suspect, knowing Cage\u2019s artistic tendencies the way we do from his previous work, that unplanned-for challenges are bound to pop up for TS on the way to achieving his dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They do. No sooner do TS and TK step out of their rental car and walk onto the beach than a surly guy in a swim suit snarls an insult at them as he shoulders past. Something on the order of: \u201cFuck off. Live local, surf local.\u201d Down at the beach shack where TS and son encounter a similarly surly character named Scally (Julian McMahon) and his mates, they hear that this beach is indeed for locals only. They\u2019re not welcome and should leave immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But TS, perhaps a believer in American exceptionalism, or maybe just plain stubborn, is intent on surfing Luna Bay no matter what. One thing leads to another. Obstacles appear and keep on appearing. They are numerous and seemingly endless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real estate guy has more important things to do than to help make the sale. TS\u2019 boss back home is sending out bad news. A gang of teenage bullies, Scally\u2019s \u201ccult,\u201d won\u2019t leave the peaceful newcomers alone. Meanwhile TS\u2019 ex-wife is on the line with problematic demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
A gang of teenage bullies plague Nicolas Cage\u2019s character in \u2018The Surfer.\u2019 PHOTO: Courtesy Roadside ttracktions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the midst of this, TS\u2019 surfboard gets stolen\u2014he spots it hanging on Scally\u2019s shack, but a nasty local cop refuses to do anything about it. That board isn\u2019t yours, it\u2019s been here for years. More things happen:  TS\u2019 car gets vandalized. He loses his shoes in the restroom and steps on broken glass in the parking lot. A larcenous barista won\u2019t take TS\u2019 charge card, demands that he leave his valuable watch as collateral to pay for a cup of coffee, then closes the snack bar when TS is preoccupied. There\u2019s an angry dog that seems to hate TS, and a snake. In the meantime TS\u2019 son has departed the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list of mishaps goes on for days and nights. The car gets stolen. TS unwisely, in his thirst, fills a dirty bottle with brown water from the restroom and gulps it down. Oh yes, and a seagull shits on him. He begins to hallucinate in the hot Australian sun. His appearance grows scruffier. We notice he\u2019s beginning to closely resemble the homeless bum who haunts the parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could it be that The Surfer<\/em> is an allegorical tale of psychological agony? The Roadside Attractions release, directed by Lorcan Finnegan from a screenplay by fellow Irishman Thomas Martin, is a far cry from, say, filmmaker Mike Figgis\u2019 Leaving Las Vegas<\/em> (1995), for which Cage was awarded a Best Actor Academy Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Surfer<\/em> suffers from some basic flaws, but so too do many of the flicks in the actor\u2019s 152-title rap sheet. The scenario treads water for the last 15 minutes of its running time, during which the character undergoes a coda of sorts to break up the monotony of his trip to the bottom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gone are the joyous comic-book machismo of Little Junior Brown in Kiss of Death<\/em>, the low-rent bent-cop lunacy of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans<\/em>, and the ditto what-the-hell of 2023\u2019s vampire clown show Renfield<\/em>. By contrast, The Surfer<\/em> is the definition of miscellaneous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now playing at AMC Eastridge 15, AMC Mercado 20 and AMC Saratoga 14.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Knowing Nicolas Cage\u2019s artistic tendencies in his previous work, challenges for his character are bound to pop up in \u2018The Surfer.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14789,"featured_media":20181831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"0","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n