Dream Scenario

I was really intrigued by the trailer for Dream Scenario so I went back to the Broadway (my second home) last night to see it.  I found it to be hilarious and thought-provoking.  Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) is a mild-mannered evolutionary biology professor who inexplicably begins appearing as a benign presence in other people's dreams.  When a former girlfriend writes an article about the phenomenon that goes viral he becomes an overnight sensation.  He basks in all of the attention he receives from his daughters (Lily Bird and Jessica Clement) and his students and, even though his wife (Julianne Nicholson) warns that there will be negative consequences, he appears on television and tries to parlay his new-found fame into a book deal by signing with an agent (Michael Cera).  Suddenly his presence in everyone's dreams becomes malevolent which causes him to be feared and then vilified.  He loses his job and his family and finds it impossible to appear in public without being attacked.  Eventually, people stop dreaming about him but he tries to hold on to his notoriety by writing a trashy tell-all book and appearing at third-rate events.  This is an incredibly clever social satire about the fickle nature of fame and how someone or something can quickly catch the attention of the collective unconscious and then, just as quickly, disappear.  The commentary about the devastating effects of cancel culture is particularly fascinating and the scene where Matthews films a tear-filled apology, which seems to be de rigueur for any celebrity embroiled in a scandal, is quite amusing.  I also really enjoyed the scene where his prospective agent tries to get him to take a deal endorsing Sprite, because it perfectly embodies influencer culture, and all of the dream sequences, because they blur the line between the real and the surreal.  Cage, with a balding head, large glasses, graying beard, and over-sized parka, gives one of his best performances as an ordinary man caught up in a situation that he doesn't understand and can't control because his sputtering reactions to what is happening to him (both good and bad) are so funny.  There is a sub-plot in the third act about a device inspired by Matthews that allows people to visit other people's dreams that didn't really work for me but most of this had me laughing out loud.  I definitely recommend it.