There’s no denying that Nicolas Cage is a phenomenal actor. He was once ranked 4oth in ‘The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time’ list by Empire Magazine. His real name is also Nicolas Kim Copolla, not Nicolas Cage. He changed his name in order to avoid constantly being associated with his famous uncle Francis Ford Copolla who is known for directing The Godfather trilogy.
Cage has also been nominated for an Oscar twice and won once. This is proof that he is good at what he does. However, his constant cringy moments in movies have made him a laughing stock at times. But it seems he can’t help it since it just keeps happening. Who should we blame? The screenwriters or him? Here are some of his cringy movie moments.
Bad Lieutenant: Ripping A Grandmother’s Oxygen Supply
Drug addicted cop Terence McDonagh (Nicholas Cage) will do anything it takes to find a key witness. When he is having little luck with the hunt, he goes to a hospital where the grandmother of the witness is admitted. Of course, most family members don’t rat out each other, so when grandam tries to play a little tough, Terence goes the extra mile.
The junkie lieutenant decides to rip grandma’s oxygen supply then threatens to kill her. Watching the horror on her face is heartbreaking. But he doesn’t stop there. When grandma still won’t talk, the now very bad lieutenant holds a gun to her head and promises to shoot in five, four, three, two…
Con Air: A Polite Request
Imagine if Liam Neeson called the kidnappers in Taken and said, “Bring my daughter back. Please! Nice talking to you. Have a good day.” Weird? Pretty much. That’s how this moment in Con Air feels like. So, what exactly happens? A riot breaks out inside a plane that’s transporting convicts. One of the convicts grabs a gift that Cameron Poe (Nicholas Cage) has bought for his daughter.
Instead of doing something about it, Poe simply says, “Put the bunny back in the box.” He also goes on to repeat the same line thrice. The third time he’s saying it, he almost sounds scared. Logically, a man who spends the rest of the movie acting like a tough guy will only give a warning once before descending on the guy with… you know… Blows? Kicks? It’s your daughter’s gift for God’s sake.
Gone In 60 Seconds: Shut Up And Listen To The Music
In this remake of the 1974 film, there is a scene where professional car thief Memphis Raynes (Cage) asks his crew members to all shut up so that they can listen to a song. This happens just before they are about to depart for a job. The song playing is Lowrider (1975) by the band War.
Seeing Cage meditating to the song while his crew members look confused is totally cringy. The way he sways his hands like the conductor of an orchestra is also pretty unnecessary. Why not just save us all some time and get to the grand theft auto, Mr. Cage?
Wild At Heart: Kung Fu Dancing
Lovebirds Sailor Ripley (Cage)and Lula (Laura Dern) hit the road to escape from Lula’s controlling mother and the hitmen she has hired to kill them. When Lula struggles to find something worthwhile to entertain them on the radio, Sailor takes control and plays metal music.
When the song starts playing, he howls like a wolf in a manner guaranteed to cause you hearing problems in the future. Sailor also performs a Kung Fu backflip in order to get out of the vehicle. Did opening the door go out of fashion? Lula joins him in the dancing and at least brings some sanity to the whole situation.
Ghostrider: Pissing Fire
Danny (Fergus Riordan) a kid who has made friends with Johnny Blaze can’t stop himself from being awed by his inflammable abilities. He asks The Ghostrider several questions, including what it’s like to pee while on fire. Good question. We’ve been wondering too.
Johnny gives the most Johnny response by saying, “It’s awesome, it’s like a flamethrower.” Like the one that Di Caprio was using to kill Nazis in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood? Come on. Show us. We won’t believe it till we see it. To prove his point, Johnny goes on to demonstrate. A scene where he is pissing flames is shown. Maybe we didn’t need to see that.
Face/Off: Father Cage
Face/Off is easily one of the best action movies of all time. But it wouldn’t feel complete without a cringy moment from Cage. In the opening scenes of the film, Castor Troy (Cage) masquerades as a priest doing choir practice. His real mission has been to plant a dirty bomb.
Instead of staying focussed, he goes on to touch a choir girl inappropriately before shouting “Hallelujah!” He also licks her ear and the face he makes after that is… Let’s just say you’re going straight to hell Father Cage. Again, was that scene really necessary?
Matchstick Men: Yelling At A Pharmacist
Con artist Roy Waller (Nicholas Cage) goes to the pharmacy to buy prescription medication. Since he is impatient, he skips the line. As expected, both the pharmacist and the other customers become angry at him. But instead of apologizing, he goes on a cringy rant.
He even directs a bizarre question the pharmacist’s way: “Have you ever been dragged to the sidewalk and beaten until you pissed blood?!” Well, not many people have. What’s your point Mr.Cage? Pissing blood? What you are talking about seems more like a scene in The Sopranos.
The Wicker Man: Bear Suits And Bees
Cage’s Wicker Man was a remake of a 1973 British horror film of the same name. While the original has an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes, this one has a dismal 15%. What did we say about leaving the classics alone? It appears that director Neill Labute didn’t get the memo.
Cage’s most weird moment comes when he knocks out a woman with a powerful punch before kicking another. He does this while he is disguised in a bear suit. He is an angry man whose daughter has disappeared and the people he is dealing with are psychotic, but still… During the later stages, Cage’s character also gets killed when he is tied up by his crazy captors then a swarm of bees is deployed to his head.
Deadfall: Exaggerated Paranoia
Deadfall was directed by Cage’s brother Christopher Copolla, so we can safely assume that he was given the polarizing actor was granted a free rein. Do whatever you want Mr. Cage. And he did just that.
In Deadfall a conman called Eddie (Cage) goes back home packed with plenty of paranoia after an attempt is made on his life. “Someone’s trying to kill me,” he says as he slams the door, sniffs a cigar before dashing to his bed. He begins landing heavy punches on the mattress as his rant continues. He then concludes with the confusing statement “Well, viva la fuckin France man!” Say what? Give that man an honorary Oscar.
Vampire Kiss: Screaming In The Streets of New York
Here, Cage should have really been locked up in a cage. It was too much. He stars as Peter Loew, a literary agent who works all day and parties all night. After some hallucinations, he convinces himself that he has been bitten by a vampiress.
He thus becomes convinced that he has also turned into a vampire. And when he doesn’t develop the fangs he has been hoping for, he buys plastic ones. Not long after that, he is walking the streets screaming “I’m a vampire!” He also east a live cockroach at some point. Umm… You are too much sir!
