Episode 18.5 — Minisode 18.5

[admin 330]

It's been too long since we visited our old friend Nic Cage! Our next movie choice is a highly requested selection from Nicholas'resume: The Wicker Man. You have a week to find it online and enjoy 102 minutes ofRidiculous Cagebefore we deconstruct it for you (and possibly revisit Skyline). See you next week!

[Anchor Management 36]

Great pic, I wonder who recommended it here first: http://www.earwolf.com/forums/topic.php?id=578
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Also, are there no more listener questions from you guys? I wouldn't mind it if that would mean you guys go weekly. Maybe it was just some kind of oversight. You can always ADR it in. Along with a couple of farts.

[LukeHENDERSON 3]

Well done Stefan! I remember when I first watched this feeling like, well I must not get it because it is so strange. Then I spoke to some friends who were just as confused and angry. Felt great to not just be a moron like usual. Going to be wonderful to hear them tear it apart. I wonder who the possible SkyLine guest is. I hope it's one of the King Kong aliens.

[jklmr123 47]

I love your guy's show so much, but I do wish that that you could avoid all the same movies that the Proudly Resents podcast http://proudlyresents.com/. They normally tend to go to more cult or lesser known disasterious movies, but they did do The Wicker Man and Old Dogs. and they started a few months before this podcast aired. So obviosuly 2 cross-overs of the same idea is not a problem, but I would think with all of those bad movie suggestions, that other movies could be done.
But agian, I still love this show and will support it, but wished different bad movies were talked about.

[Anchor Management 36]

Also a note to the hosts and anyone wanting to check it out before the podcast: if you watch the unrated version, find a way to see the original "6 months later" or however later ending for a few celeb cameos and LeeLee Sobieski looking really hot. Which was the best part of the movie, given what they imply will happen, so of course they cut it out of the later version.
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@ljjk1234: I think it's impossible to not discuss movies already talked about elsewhere. This is by no stretch of the imagination a unique concept. There are two ways to go with the bad movie riffing approach: one is go the obscure, inherently bad, yet fun movies, like blackspolation movies or straight-to-video films, but that relies very heavily on the talent of the creators to make that funny. The other route is go for big name terrible movies like Wicker Man, All About Steve or Battlefield Earth. Because that route is much more fun and comedy stems from shared experiences, so many others have travelled it. My Year of Flops, Commentary Tracks of the Damned, The Flop House, Yeah It's That Bad, Videogum's The Hunt For The Worst Movie of All Time, etc., etc., they all have a huge overlap in which movies they talk about. It's near impossible to review a recognisable bad movie that has not yet been reviewed. Does that make the later entries less valid? Of course not, they stand on their own quality. Still, good plug, will check out some episodes.
tl;dr: Simpsons did it.

[poberon 0]

Some food for thought: http://www.misixinc.com/imported-20110919211816/2011/9/19/a-world-without-cages-a-statistical-analysis-of-nicolas-cage.html

[dimattiafilms 2]

I second the watching of the theatrical version. To give you an idea of what to expect, the unrated version actually REMOVES a lot of footage in an attempt to make The Wicker Man less ridiculous.

Also, look closely during the opening credits for a random Aaron Eckhart-with-a-moustache cameo:

[EarBear 460]

I love that the Eckhart cameo is in the beginning, as if he said, "Fuck this shitty movie, I'm outta here!".

[VinsanityV22 500]

Boo:( This isn't on Netflix - either version. I refuse to use (what will soon become Qwikster); I'm all about "the future". Instant Streaming or nothing. Guess I'm sitting this one out - looking forward to the podcast though;) It's always great, whether or not I know about the movie at hand. This one should be great. Wonder who the guest will be? Earwolf in general seems to be great at gueststars, but HDTGM in particular gets amazing guests all the time!

I hope Donald Faison calls in!

[MisterMachine 0]

Oh Man I love this movie! I was so bummed when it didn't win the Razzie that I wrote it an open letter. Pasting it below in case anyone's interested...

Dear The Wicker Man,

I am writing to express my deep dismay that you have been robbed of Hollywood's most prestigious award, The Golden Raspberry. The vote tally this year was reportedly very close, and although I have not seen Basic Instinct 2 (nor it's prequel, Showgirls), I'd imagine that even if the immortal Ms. Stone actually broke a hip on camera while crossing and uncrossing her legs it still couldn't hold a candle to the amazing cinematic spectacle that was The Wicker Man.

As a big fan of the original 1973 cult film, I was eager to see how the story could be improved upon with a larger budget and today's slicker production values. In the original film, Sergeant Howie attempts to salvage something beautiful and pure from a cultish past, and ends up dying a horrible fiery death, and it was great to see that same feeling resurrected for the remake. Equally enjoyable, was watching the new film come into it's own, and take the story to places the original filmmakers would never have even considered.

In praising you, oh Wicker Man remake, I would be remised to not give the film's star, the ever delightful Nicholas Cage his due. How refreshing it was to see Cage's character go from bemusedly melancholy, to freaked out and perturbed, to increasingly more freaked out and perturbed, to eventually getting pissed and running around yelling things. What a winning emotional arc for him, frankly I'm surprised he's never tried that before! I especially enjoyed the film's climax, where Mr. Cage punched several women in the face while wearing a big furry bear costume. Not since Paul Newman donned pink bunny ears and urinated on Audrey Hepburn in the non-existent 1969 Nosferatu remake have I seen such a popular and respected leading man make such a bold choice. As Cage was manhandled and dragged away by a bunch of women and children in bad Halloween costumes while yelping out lines like "Ow, my legs!" and, "Killing me won't bring back your goddamn honey!" I found myself asking, "Is this the same actor I've seen in such macho roles as Con-Air, Gone in 60 Seconds, and Trapped in Paradise? Talk about acting range, I was absolutely stunned.

As good as Cage's performance was, the real star of this film was the plot. While most films these days seem to try to tell a story by setting it up in the beginning, and then revealing various plot points throughout the movie until arriving at a logical conclusion, you, oh glorious Wicker Man, would not be stymied by such convention. While many films are wrapped up with no loose ends and everything accounted for, good cinema should make you think, and ask questions, questions like:

-How could the mom and little girl be there at the end if Nicholas Cage saw them die in the beginning?
-If he didn't actually see them die, and it was a hallucination, why did he have it before the trauma of seeing them die that caused the hallucinations to begin with?
-And what was up with those hallucinations/flashbacks/dream sequences, was the girl his daughter or supposed to represent his daughter or both or neither? And why were they in black and white?
-Why instead of an island inhabited by fun, sex-ritual loving pagans like in the original was it inhabited by puritanical neo-feminist fascists?
-Why does it take Cage's police sheriff two-thirds of the movie to realize none of the men on the island can speak, and in the scene where he figures it out, why does he offer to help the men stacking logs on a pile only to ride off on his bicycle after knocking the whole pile over?
-Why did they kill the pilot if they depended on him to deliver goods, and why does nobody come looking for him?
-How can Nicholas Cage be up to his neck in icy water for such a long time and appear totally warm and dry just moments after being rescued?
-And perhaps most importantly, the doll, How'd it get burned? How'd it get burned? HOW'D IT GET BURNED?!

In conclusion, oh wonderful majesty that is The Wicker Man, allow me to remind you, awards and critical acclaim are nice, but fleeting, and when all is said and done it's the work that speaks for itself. Remember when Tom Hanks starred in Big, he became the toast of Hollywood, and where's he been since, toiling in such mediocrity as The Burbs and Bachelor Party, that's where. So don't be sad, old buddy The Wicker Man, that you didn't get the Golden Razzie, be proud of your incredible contribution to the medium of cinema, as a film of such quality as you is sure to be remembered for a long time to come.

Sincerely Yours,

Will Kurtz

[Peter_Awesome 28]

I do enjoy this movie quite a bit. Although I must admit, it does drag between the "best of" moments you usually see on YouTube.

One of my favorite things about this movie is that it was directed by Neil LaBute, an amazing film/theatre writer/director. "In The Company of Men" and "The Shape of Things" are two of my favorites that I've seen thus far, and I'm trying to see others. It always fascinated me how he got involved with this, and how amazingly bad it is given his other works. Then again, he directed "Lakeview Terrace" and the American version of "Death At a Funeral". What's even crazier is that he wrote the screenplay for "The Wicker Man" too! I've found no information regarding why he wrote it the way he did, if execs or editors in Hollywood somehow fucked it up from the original screenplay, or anything about his involvement. Maybe he's embarrassed, which I wouldn't blame him for.

Neil directing definitely explains why Aaron Eckhart makes a cameo. Aaron Eckhart has been the leading man in a lot of LaBute's films (the ones he's penned).

He mainly works in theatre, so maybe it's just something about film that gets him all crazy. I wish I knew. Don't judge Neil LaBute, though. His plays are really great.

[Peter_Awesome 28]

I also wish I was a somewhat well-known person so I could appear and talk about this movie. I hope Paul and all mention the dialog, because it is so strange in places. I mean, I hope they discuss everything. I wouldn't mind a 60-minute episode for this movie.

[Ghost of HST 71]

Not sure what is up with the versions...The one I watched had the "six months later" ending but I guess this awesome scene is only in the unrated version? SPOILER ALERT!!

(ETA: OK go to Yuutube...weird audio because it was some class project to redo the audio)

Also, only movie ever dedicated to Johnny Ramone?

It did make me want to watch the original as I could see it being very creepy in a low-key 70s British movie type of way.