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In my opinion, Nicolas Cage has sold out as an actor. After an excellent performance in Leaving Las Vegas, he decides to do action movies with weak characters such as The Rock, Face Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds. Nicolas Cage seems to be shifting towards his dramatic acting strengths with The Family Man, although some decent performances can't be saved by a weak script. An odd thing about The Family Man is that it is directed by the same director who did Rush Hour. Jumping from directing an action movie to a family drama is an odd choice, although he doesn't do a bad job directing or anything. Nicolas Cage starts off in this movie as a fat cat working in Wall Street. After displaying a Scrooge-like attitude by scheduling a meeting on Christmas Day, he wanders over to get some eggnog from a small grocery store. After making a move which would probably kill him in real life, Cage wakes up the next morning as a tire salesman. He also is married to Tea Leoni, his high school sweetheart, a path he chose not to travel in "real life." Can he escape his "glimpse?" If the glimpse concept seemed random in my plot synopsis, it's because the glimpse is presented that way in the actual movie. While a brief explanation is given for the "glimpse" concept, it is never explained in more detail. Also Cage's character is provided with a bell to summon the guy who gave him the "glimpse" if he needs help. Surprisingly, the bell is taken about ten minutes after he receives it. Is this an attempt to show the audience that Cage has to deal with accepting an entirely different form of life all by himself or a weak way to gloss over a script problem? The music is by Danny Elfman, yet seems strangely bland. Elfman normally has a distinct recognizable style to his music, but it's only apparent here in one brief bit of music. I give The Family Man **1/2 out of ****. |