DVD Release Date: April 6, 2010
A script that arrives at Nicholas Cage’s (Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, Adaptation) mansion will get a good read from the aged actor these days. Now bankrupt Cage was shocked when he got a script from famed German director Werner Herzog. It was a match made in heaven. Cage, real last name is Coppola, has been on a downward spiral since his uncle refused to cast him in Godfather III. Herzog has a collection of films which have given him a big name as an international director, however Grizzly Man (2005) was his last and one of his greatest Hollywood successes. The Cage-Herzog machine has great power to cross lines into new territory.
For some mysterious reason Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call-New Orleans was nominated for a few awards at various film festivals. Herzog creates a unique nightmare environment that gives the film a furious pace. The original Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara-King of New York) was one of the first films to realistically depict a policeman (Harvey Keitel) as a drug addicted psychopath. Victor Argo wrote both Bad Lieutenant’s, but Ferrara has been busy finishing Jekyll and Hyde starring Forest Whitaker and 50 Cent.
The story is nearly the same as Bad Lieutenant minus nuns and New York, plus the New Orleans post Katrina environment. Cage has an excellent supporting cast with the exception for rapper Xzibit who needs to go return to MTV or 1996. Cage and his hot hooker girlfriend (Eva Mendes) have a hilarious drug addiction that creates some funny scenes. What is omnipresent in the movie is Cage’s extremely unbelievable character. Cage is regurgitating parts of characters he played in the past. His back injury combined with crack smoking makes Cage’s body look more awkward than his hair piece. The comedy this awful movie unnaturally displays is incredible. Ridiculous writing creates situations which are slapstick. Not since Cage starred in Wicker Man (2006) has a film made me believe that Hollywood had reached its rock bottom. A cool name like “Nicholas Cage” still holds weight from previous decades allowing him to find work in remakes like this. According to imdb.com Cage is already working on nearly ten films in 2010.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call-New Orleans is one of the greatest accidental comedies in Hollywood history. See this film if you enjoy watching something that is so terrible it crosses the line into comedy. Hollywood will be following the tradition of recent decades by reusing ideas and going green. Ghost Rider 2 starring Nicholas Cage should be finished by the end of the year.
1 out of 4
(Remember, It’s a comedy! - Review by Thomas Demerath)
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