I am usually not a fan of Nicholas Cage. In fact, I was so repulsed by him in City of Angels that I just never watched a movie starring him again…until last Thursday. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, too. I thought it was hysterical—the movie completely transformed from a semi-depressing/boring film to a completely entertaining and ridiculous series of bizarre events!
We watched Adapatation—a film about a screenwriter, Charile Kaufman, who struggles with writer’s block and making his mark in the “industry.” I was humored by Kaufman’s neurotic voice-overs. I think voice-overs are normally utilized to simply narrate and accessorize the plot, but in this movie, the voice-overs really gave us another dimension of the characters.
It was very obvious that the movie was exploring the good ole’ sell out/get rich vs. stay true/starve theme. I didn’t really have a problem with it, though. I am still stunned at the level that the filmmakers chose to portray this. However, in discussion, it seemed like most people agreed that most innovative and real movies are not successful. On one hand, I think that this is sad because talent is probably wasted everyday because someone is told that their ideas are too “out there” or “not right.” On the other hand, I know I am part of the problem. I like movies that are different—not your average happily, ever after flick--but even those have a mold that they fit in.
Within five minutes of viewing Adaptation, many people got excited because it was very reminiscent of The Enternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Why do we do that? I do it…daily! Every work of art will always be compared and contrasted against some other work. It is almost like we can’t let anything just BE. Why can’t cliché movies just be? Where’s the line between cliché and reality? I know a lot of people and a lot of real life situations that just are cliché. So what makes these other movies so innovative…so “real?” Should we all strive to think outside of the box? I’m pretty sure almost every young writer is doing that, does that make them cliché now?
Okay, so I got on a rant…I haven’t slept in 24 hours. I’m sorry, blog world!
Even though the ending didn't make much sense with the random series of events, I agree that it was entertaining. I felt like it kind of mocked moviemakers and how they try to make movies exciting with cliche things such as drugs, sex, and violence.
ReplyDeleteWhy do we always compare movies to other movies? Nothing stands alone as a film. There always seems to be something common among films: character development, music, settings, or overall plot ideas. But this fact makes us feel okay about looking at others work for our own. Everyone seems to share their work in Hollywood, which I find very interesting, especially since most people want to come up with the new and innovate thing. Weird.
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