The Stream: Things get frustratingly muddled and confusing near the end.

The Big Screen: Another fully committed Nicolas Cage performance and a highly intriguing premise.

The Final Bill: A interesting premise and quirky Nic Cage make for an entertaining movie.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Kristoffer Borgli
Writers: Kristoffer Borgli
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Tim Meadows, Dylan Baker, Michael Cera, Kate Berlant, Dylan Gelula
Genre: Comedy, Horror
Rating: R for language, violence, and some sexual content
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
Production Companies: A24, Square Peg, Wildling Pictures
Platform: In theaters November 22, 2023
Notable Trailers: Madame Web, Night Swim, The Zone of Interest, The Iron Claw, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Hey, Streamers! It has been a busy season in life and at the movies. It is always nice to have something new and exciting to fill our stockings, right? In this season, there are usually some wannabe Oscar fare, but I was able to catch up with an exciting dramedy, Dream Scenario, starring Nicolas Cage. It’s kind of like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind mashed up with Beau Is Afraid, or at least it has some out of this world elements like those movies. Here’s how it goes.

In Dream Scenario, Nicolas Cage stars as Paul Matthews, a sad-sack evolutionary biology professor, who begins to randomly appear in people’s dreams. In the dreams, Paul is just there as an emotionless bystander no matter what the odd events of the dreams are. As Paul discovers his appearances of the dreams are more widespread than he thought, he tries to capitalize on the notoriety. As we all know, dreams can become nightmares and ominously Paul may learn that all fame isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Uncanny dreamlike hijinks ensue.

Dream Scenario has two stars: Nicolas Cage and its outlandish premise. They both deliver on their promise. Nicolas Cage is excellent in this kind of role. He portrays Paul with annoying pathos and perfectly pitched bewilderment. Paul is so inert in life, and Cage captures it with every odd stare and some interesting physical twitches. He’s a marvel to watch. The premise of the movie itself is so interesting that it sells itself. You’ll really want to find out what’s happening and how does it all end. Kristoffer Borgli, who wrote and directed the film, has a strange and interesting point of view and makes the depiction of Paul appearing in various dreams both funny and terrifying. My biggest gripe is that Borgli takes on a theme of fame and cancel culture that feels oppressively imposed on an otherwise fanciful film. The movie really gets bogged down in trying to be a morality tale, which is unfortunate, and it becomes a facsimile of a “Black Mirror” episode.

Ultimately, Dream Scenario is a curious and intriguing film. It has an interesting premise and an excellent Nicolas Cage performance that makes it entertaining. The movie goes off the rails in the latter half as it gets bogged down by thematic elements. Nevertheless, it is at least worthy of a matinee viewing with a bowl of popcorn.