Drive Angry

Take a '70s exploitation movie (lots of gratuitous nudity, extreme violence, vulgarity, shoot-outs, car chases, many, many explosions), add 3-D and Nicolas Cage with his Con Air hair, and you have Drive Angry. Yes, that's right, that's what my pathetic "life" has come to. The only two movies I've seen in a theater in months are Season of the Witch and Drive Angry. Even sadder, I had a great time. Don't judge me.

There's no way to make any sense of most of the backstory, so don't even try. Just go along for the ride (there's a great series of muscle cars involved). Billy Burke plays a guy named Jonah as if he'd just stepped out of a '70s drive-in flick, and he's dressed for the part, too. Amber Heard is great as Piper, the woman Cage takes along for the ride. David Morse and Tom Atkins provide some fine support, and William Fitchner practically steals the movie as the Accountant. Cage plays this one like he played Season of the Witch, as if his mind might be elsewhere, but it works. You can have fun in the last half hour or so by watching the amazing changing make-up job on half his face.

Judy, who, as you'll recall, hated Spamalot, went with me to this. I thought she'd never forgive me, but as we left the theater I asked her how she liked the movie. She said, "I liked it. It was funny and crazy, and it never slowed down." So there you have it. Go figure.