The Wicker Man (2006): A Mess or Just a Misunderstanding? [Joey’s Review]
Perhaps no film in Cage’s filmography is more maligned than his 2006 remake of THE WICKER MAN. The original is a beloved cult classic, and (I think?) relatively obscure, at least in terms of mainstream taste. To have a remake is a relatively cool idea, especially considering more than 30 years had passed between the original and the remake.
But when it came out, people didn’t know what to make of it. It feels like Nicolas Cage is acting in a different movie from the rest of the cast; in some respects, he is. Supposedly, Cage and director Neil LaBute set out to make an “absurdist black comedy.” Cage wanted to sport an oversized mustache he could twirl as a detective investigating this wacky island. That didn’t happen.
Instead, what we got was an island full of women fully committed to a very serious movie, with Cage coming across over the top, as he is wont to do. This is, after all, the movie that gave us the “NOT THE BEES!” clip (although not, weirdly enough, in the theatrical cut) that the internet has come to know and love. There’s a disconnect here, and the movie suffers because of it.
In spite of this disconnect, however, I can tell you that the movie is a LOT of fun. Sure, there are times when you laugh at the movie, but there are far more times where you laugh with it. One of my favorite readings of any line so far in #CageClub comes in the middle of this movie, when Cage opens a school desk and a bird flies out. His “What.” is perfection.
There’s so much to cover with this movie. Cage dresses like a bear. He straight-up punches two or three women, and Holly Holms another into a wall. He’s pinned down and has his legs shattered. He is donned in a beekeeper mask with an opening in the top that lets bees be poured in, who promptly sting him to near-death. He’s revived, only to be brought to the giant wicker man and burned alive. And that’s just the film’s last 15 minutes!
I think The Wicker Man has a bad reputation it’s unlikely to ever shake. That’s kind of a shame because it’s a lot of fun to watch, as long as you’re not expecting a good movie. If you’re just looking for insanity and Cage acting like a semi-madman, you could do a lot worse than this movie. Plus, by watching this movie, you could finally figure out if it really is a shark in that bag after all!
How can I watch it? You’ll have to rent this for a couple bucks, but the version to rent on Amazon is the theatrical cut, which doesn’t include the bees or the leg breaking scenes. If you wanna see this, splurge for the Blu-ray!
What’s up next? Cage gets as close to his namesake as he’ll ever get with GHOST RIDER!
