Willy’s Wonderland review- a healthy dose of cage
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Nicolas Cage is a man who knows no limit. Completely eccentric, undeniably talented, he might be the most divisive artist living today. Whilst many have criticized him for his recent film choices, he still makes for fascinating watching, even in the absolute low points of his filmography.
‘Willy’s Wonderland’ falls somewhere in the middle of his oeuvre. After the success of films like ‘Mom and Dad’, ‘Color Out of Space’ and most notably ‘Mandy’, this recent stage in his career has established himself as a cult icon. He plays the nameless Janitor, a silent drifter who wonders into town after his car tyre is (deliberately) punctured. The local mechanic makes him an ultimatum after he can’t pay for the repairs. He must clean ‘Willy’s Wonderland’, a former indoor, Chuck E. Cheese like family restaurant filled with animatronic mascots. Once inside, the animatronics come to life, leaving Cage and a group of local teenagers to deal with the monstrosities.
It’s interesting to see Cage’s signature bats*it performance style be implemented into a silent character. The most we get is the occasional grunt. The film feels like a video game in this part, with Cage channeling Gordon Freeman from ‘Half Life’. Each animatronic he fights feels like another boss as he progresses further. The multiple sequences of cleaning are the filler missions. And the scenes of Cage playing pinball fill like load times. Whilst a signature attribute is his voice and colourful use of language (his recent hosting of a Netflix show about the history of swear words makes full use of this characteristic), he is still wonderfully enjoyable without his voice. His insane demeanor can carry a film all by itself.
The director Kevin Lewis and screenwriter G.O Parsons almost relish in the unabashed coolness of Cage. Even whilst wearing a tight t-shirt that says, ‘Willy’s Wonderland’, he still channels that late 90s action persona. Frankly, if none of the other characters showed up, it would not have made a difference. It rests on horror cliché that even gives Jason Voorhees a run for his money. The teens are there to get killed. The rednecks of the town are meant to be idiotic/sinister. Most of the characters make stupid decision after stupid decision. Cage never seems to have much difficulty in dealing with the animatronics, instead combatting them with complete ease. His only real weakness is that when his watch signals his “work break”, he goes into the staffroom where he plays pinball, whilst consuming energy drinks. Yet, this does not really impact him at all. In fact, it is more harmful to the teens who are not quite as adept in their animatronic destroying abilities.
It is a movie that you take for what it is. It is completely tongue in cheek, incredibly unserious, but rather fun. Honestly, if Nicolas Cage was not in this film, then it would be uncertain if this would have even been greenlit. It is a film written for its star and its star alone. It is by no means high art, but honestly a lot of high art is not as entertaining as this. If the concept of Nic Cage fighting a giant weasel called Willy does not float your boat, you might need to stay away. If it does, relish in the attraction of ‘Willy’s Wonderland’.
