Better Late Than Never on "Willy's Wonderland"

On a recent episode of "Scott Hasn't Seen", director Kevin Lewis was on to talk about the movie "Possession". I have not seen that movie as of yet, but it is now on my list. But, during the podcast recording, when Scott Aukerman was interviewing Lewis, they got around to talking about some of his past work and the movie "Willy's Wonderland".

I remember hearing about this movie when it came out, it was released in 2021 during deep COVID, and it starred Nic Cage. That was kind of all I kept in my brain about it, forgot about it and then never really thought about it until "SHS". During the interview, the way Lewis described it, made me want to see it.

First off, I'm a Nic Cage fan. He does so much work, and for me, most of it hits. I do prefer his older work, but some of his new stuff is pretty decent. I loved "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent". I have heard great things about "Pig", and I have a plan to watch that very soon. I heard from my son that he was great in "Spider Noir". Even the crummy stuff is kind of watchable because Cage is always going to do something memorable. So the other day I found "Willy's Wonderland" streaming on Prime, it is on Hulu as well, and pushed play.

For the next 80 minutes I was pretty happy with my decision to watch this movie. Now, before I get too far ahead of myself, this movie is ridiculous and insane. The whole plot is basically tricking Cage's character into going into this Chuck E Cheese like establishment and having him fight these demonic animatronics. My son said it was very reminiscent of "Five Nights at Freddy's", which I have not seen, but from context clues I got what he was saying. But this movie is probably a little bit gorier than "Five Nights at Freddy's". And it stars Nicolas freaking Cage. What enticed me most from the podcast interview was the fact that the director mentioned that Cage's character doesn't speak a single line of dialogue. I guess Cage is a big fan of silent films and has always wanted to make his version of one. And when he was given this script he figured it was his best chance. And Cage is so very enticing in the role. His character is known simply as The Janitor, and as mentioned, he speaks no lines, he does scream a bit, but the majority of his acting is all within his face. And he nails it. I knew what his mission was and I understood why he was doing what he was doing as The Janitor. And the fight scenes in this movie were wonderful. I am all for taking a chance on doing something avant garde or different in movies, and having Cage fight demonic animatronics is very different and unique. I especially loved that when he would rip out the animatronics spines or "brains", in lieu of blood pouring everywhere and being splashed on people, it was oil. And Cage would be doused in the oil whenever he would vanquish another crazy animal. Sure, there's other people in the movie, and there is a whole story about a kid who's mom and dad were tricked into doing the work in this place and died, but she lived, but that is besides the point. Every movie needs a story to go off of, but this was definitely more in the grindhouse genre of movies. The other actors outside of Cage were ancillary and simply there to just move the story. And most of them, like in a typical grindhouse movie, met grisly ends. But make no mistake, this is Cage's movie through and through, and he made it a compelling watch for me. I could not take my eyes off the screen when he was there. He would take breaks after fighting the animatronics and play pinball and drink energy drinks and he would improvise these wild dances that only Cage could pull off.

Again, this movie is completely and utterly absurd, but I absolutely enjoyed my time watching it and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. It is not scary, it is gory, and it is also a totally wild ride. Check out "Willy's Wonderland". You will have a great time with your viewing. 

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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