When it comes to Nicolas Cage films, you never know exactly which Nic Cage you're going to get. With over 100 films under his belt, he truly has a movie for every kind of audience.
With the release of his latest film on DVD, let's see what books might pair nicely with Cage's wild and wacky career.
In 1987's Moonstruck, Cage won over audiences with his quirky but romantic role as young baker Ronny Cammareri, fighting for the love of Loretta Castorini, his brother's fiancée. It's set in New York City, but fans should check out Adriana Trigiani's novels about small town Italian-Americans full of similarly engaging characters. Start with Big Stone Gap.
1995's Leaving Las Vegas won Cage both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his tragic portrayal of Ben, a deeply depressed alcoholic who goes to Las Vegas to end it all. This sad love story was based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by the late John O'Brien (Leaving Las Vegas).
Those big awards launched Cage's career into more big-budget fare including a string of iconic action-thrillers in 1996 and '97. The Rock, Con Air and Face/off are all so fun, so ridiculous and so wildly entertaining. For fans of these high-octane thrillers, try the Thorn novels by James W. Hall including Buzz Cut (terrorist on a cruise ship!) or Rules of War by Matthew Betley (deep-state double crosses!).
The next long phase of Cage's career is a mixed bag of big budget hits, quirky black comedies and forgettable, straight-to-video action movies. But there are some real gems in there that reminded us all that Cage is, well, a massive talent.
National Treasure fans should check out Brad Meltzer's speculative American history thrillers such as The House of Secrets, a tale of memory, family secrets and a priceless book hidden inside a corpse.
Mandy is a psychedelic revenge story not for the faint of heart. Horror fans interested in cults or the supernatural might look into trippy graphic novels such as Silk Hills or the stream-of-consciousness murderfest Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones.
Which finally brings us to 2022's The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, a bro-mantic action-comedy where Nicolas Cage plays...Nick Cage? That's right. He plays himself, or a version of himself, acting his way in and out of danger with a film-obsessed Spanish arms dealer, CIA agents and a wild LSD trip. This film didn't do particularly well at the box office, but now that it's available on DVD, Cage fans can revel in the many Easter eggs ("Not the bees!") throughout this wild ride of a movie. If you are intrigued by the madcap meta nature of the film, you might like Percival Everett's I Am Not Sidney Poitier, a hilarious satire about a young Black man named Not Sidney Poitier and his coming of age in the south. At one point, Not Sidney is mentored by the author, Percival Everett. So meta!
What's your favorite Nicolas Cage movie? It's hard to choose, but I have a soft spot for Peggy Sue Got Married. Tell us your picks in the comments!
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