Summer of Nicolas Cage Movie #16: Rumble Fish

1983 movie made by Nic's Uncle Francis

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Rusty James is the younger brother of legendary gang leader [The] Motorcycle Boy, a 20-something who is on sabbatical in California. Upon The Motorcycle Boy's return, Rusty James is trying his best to keep the gang and its various activities going. Meanwhile, he's balancing love and hedonism and knife fights with a rival gang. But time's are changing, his older brother just doesn't seem into it all anymore, and it might be time for Rusty James to grow up. Rusty James!

I wonder if the name "Rusty James" is said more in this than "Man" is said in The Big Lebowski. I'm surprised I liked this one as much as I did. It's got dimensions, one of those you can enjoy on a lot of different levels. There's style to spare--black 'n' white and smoke machines and greasy shadows in dank settings and time-lapsed cloud drift and fish color splashes and shots straight out of German Expressionism. It's enough style to take this out of realistic territory and place its goings-on firmly in this imaginary movie land. I suppose that could distract, but I dug it as a sort of experimental film for teeny-boppers. I really should have seen this movie in high school. The largely rhythmic soundtrack by Stewart Copeland (apparently, a policeman) perfectly compliments the experimental tone and this streetwise otherwordliness. I could play it for you, and you'd guess it was from an 80's movie, but it didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth like so many other soundtracks from that era. In fact, I think I'm going to illegally download it! I enjoyed the leads, Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke, the latter just exuding coolness, although I don't think I'd go as far as saying either of their performances was really good. I don't know; maybe I would. You've got a nice collective of performers playing the periphery characters as well. Dennis Hopper is really good in a small role as the boys' dad. Sofia Coppola is also in this briefly, making it a real family affair. Chris Penn, Laurence Fishburne (playing a character named Midget), our hero Nicolas Cage play Hollywood thugs. Even author S.E. Hinton's got a cameo as a whore. Of course, the real treat for me is seeing Tom Waits and Nicolas Cage on the screen at the same time. Waits plays, naturally, the owner of a pool hall, growling at the teens who don't use his furniture appropriately and getting a nifty monologue about time that sits near the heart of this movie. Speaking of time, there sure are a lot of clocks in this movie. I think there's a shot of a clock in every single scene which makes perfect sense (along with those clouds I mentioned before) since this has so much to do thematically with time and how it passes us by. Rumble Fish is a treat for the eyes and ears, and although Coppola takes a lot of chances with the way he shares the story, he doesn't sacrifice its heart or central message. Cool flick!

Note: I'm currently reading The Outsiders for teaching purposes. Tom Waits is also in Coppola's version of that Hinton book, but Nicolas Cage is not.

Correction: Stewart Copeland was a member of a band called The Police. He was not an actual policeman.

The Naked Kiss

1964 whore movie

Rating: 16/20 (Jen: 15/20)

Plot: Bald Kelly doesn't want to be a prostitute anymore, so she beats up her pimp and flees to dinky Grantville to hopefully start a new life. After sleeping with a cop fifteen minutes after her arrival, she settles down and gets herself an honest job at a hospital where she plays pirate with little boys and girls and sings some creepy songs. She meets herself a rich guy named Grant and accepts his marriage proposal. But is Grant really all that he seems to be? And will Kelly's past come back to haunt her?

More unrealistic Simon Fuller pulp, but this one's not as campily dated or as unintentionally humorous as Shock Corridor. In retrospect, I was probably a little too hard on that movie, by the way. The story and where it takes its hookers, cops, and big spenders is a good one, but I wish it had more of an edge. Seems like for a mid-60's flick, it could have. It's like the aforementioned tale of crazy people, this is daring and cutting-edge for the squares, something that's well written but still very very written, a movie that takes chances thematically but not necessarily cinematically. 1964 is before my time, but I imagine some of the subject matter The Naked Kiss addresses would have been pretty provocative. But it's all presented safely, whitebreadedly. It certainly opens with a bang with a scene that was likely Britney Spears' inspiration to shave her head and attack a paparazzo's vehicle with an umbrella in one of my favorite Britney Spears moments ever. And there are some great scenes here and there including some nice moody lighting effects. My favorite scene: a weird musical number with Constance Towers and a bunch of handicapped children wearing pirate hats.