Dream Scenario (2023)

[Winston T. Boogie]

Title: Dream Scenario (2023)

Genre: Comedy

Director: Kristoffer Borgli

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Dylan Baker, Kate Berlant, Michael Cera, Dylan Gelula, Tim Meadows, Jennifer Wigmore, Lily Gao, Lily Bird, Domenic Di Rosa, David Klein, Ben Caldwell, Agape Mngomezulu, Marnie McPhail, Jessica Clement, Star Slade, Noah Lamanna, Richard Jutras, Maev Beaty, Al Warren, Kaleb Horn, Philip van Martin, Liz Adjei, Jordan Raf, Jessie-Ann Kohlman, Greer Cohen, Trish Hoang, Will Corno, Jesse Goldman, James Collins

Release: 2023-11-10

Runtime: 100

Plot: A schlubby professor who never made it becomes an overnight celebrity after appearing in every person on Earth's dream.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Always room for more weird Nic Cage movies.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Looks funny to me.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Just saw this yesterday and liked it. Made me think of Charlie Kaufman's works, which is certainly a good thing me thinks (but maybe a tad lighter and less abstract and/or strange perhaps)... although I suppose some might find its bits of social commentary a tad too on the nose perhaps...

Not sure, but maybe I'll try seeing it again for a matinee sometime next week -- I did miss the first few minutes... though didn't seem like I missed anything too important...

_Man_

 

[The Drifter]

Recently saw the NC comedy Dream Scenario on Blu. Great film. It was at times hilarious & also awkwardly funny; bizarre, and intentionally cringe-worthy. NC was perfectly cast as Professor Paul Matthews, an ordinary schlub/everyman. IMHO his natural?! baldness here gave an element of realism to the film (i.e., in most of his films since the latter '90's it appears that he's worn hair-pieces). All of the supporting cast were excellent as well.

This film had the definite tone/vibe of an independent movie, but at the same time it seemed to have a large budget. This is par for the course with a lot of Cage films from the last 4-5 years.

Interesting premise: An ordinary guy is simply plodding along in his ordinary, average life. Suddenly, he starts appearing in random people's dreams for absolutely no reason. At first, he is simply an observer in the dreams & doesn't interfere with any of the events that are occurring. As a result of these bizarre & unexplainable occurrences, he becomes a de-facto "overnight celebrity" and his life improves dramatically:

-The previously disinterested students in his college class are actually paying attention to what he's teaching; and others (who obviously aren't even students) attend his classes as well.
-His kids actually think he's "cool" and want him to drive them to school, so that he can be seen by their friends, etc.
-His wife is invited to work on a high-profile project @ her job; and, it's obvious this is directly connected to her being married to Matthews.
-A up & coming company want him to be involved in a potentially lucrative advertising project.

Spoiler: SPOILER

However, eventually the dreams change dramatically & for the worse: Matthews inexplicably becomes violent towards innocent people in these dreams, and IRL is subsequently shunned/despised/threatened. Soon after, his life completely falls apart - and it's obvious he was much better off before these odd dream events occurred.

The film is an obvious metaphor about the highs & eventual lows that come with extreme fame/infamy.