What’s this all about?
Racing With The Moon tells the story of two teenage friends in the winter of 1942, as they prepare to ship off the the Marine Corps to fight in World War II. The story primarily revolves around two relationships. The first is the friendship between Henry (Sean Penn), a sort of proto-slacker, and Nick (Nicolas Cage). a wild, horny, drunk. The second is the budding romance between Henry and Caddie (Elizabeth McGovern).
Who is Nick in this one?
Nick plays “Nick,” a teenage enlistee who is super horny, super drunk, and who has lots of bad ideas. Nicolas Cage is masterfully cast, as he fills the role of an unpredictable, erratic teenager under unimaginable stress quite well.
Who else is in this one?
Sean Penn is in this one, and he’s genuinely good. I never understood why people talk about Sean Penn like he’s a good actor. I guess those people have seen Racing With The Moon.
A very young Elizabet McGovern is here, too. It took me far too long to recognize her as Lady Crowlet from Downton Abbey. She has 69 credits on IMDB, right now. I’m honestly shocked it isn’t more. She’s consistently good, and that’s true here, as well.
Crispin Glover is in one scene. He plays an asshole, and gets punched right in the face. Crispin alway had a very punchable face, and it’s well-used, here. Things like these always make me wonder about what it’s like to make movies. Cage and Glover would have been less than three years out from making the horrible The Best of Times. If I ran into someone I worked with on a project three years ago, we’d probably chat about it. Do you think Crispin had a conversation like, “Man, I really thought The Best of Times was going to take off!” or “Remember that time you screamed about how much you liked the meat punching in Rocky while that other kid ate a hamburger? That was great work, man!”?
Did you see that?
The hooker with a heart of gold is Carol Kane!
At one point in the movie, the boys help a prostitute, whom they already know, stop a soldier from leaving without paying. They later get her to pretend to be Henry’s girlfriend, as Nick’s girl is only allowed to go on double dates. Afterward, she offers Nick a free ride on “the old merry-go-round.”
She’s hilarious. I mean, sure, she’s always hilarious, but you don’t necessarily expect it in a wartime period drama. -Michael
There was a scene where Sean and Nic stand on train tracks side-by-side; facing an oncoming train, playing chicken. Of course they step out of the way at the last second. What’s amazing is knowing it was filmed in front of a mirror that was reflecting a real oncoming train. The whole scene really works perfectly. An amazing piece of creative film affects. -Sarah
What were Nick’s best parts?
There’s a scene in which a drunken Henry tells an also drunken Nick that he (Nick) shouldn’t drink so much.
Nick explains that drinking has allowed him to do “this,” and does an absurd little dance.
Henry asks why he would want to do that, and Nick explains that it brings him pleasure.
This scene brings me pleasure. -Michael
Along the same lines, there is a scene where Sean and Nic are cleaning up the bowling alley where they work after hours and Nic is goofing around and breaks into song. Between his spastic dancing and crazy, off tune lyrics, it really made the scene. -Sarah
What were Nick’s worst parts?
This is a little bit of a cop out, because Nicholas Cage isn’t what I dislike about it, but I found the final scene to be stupid. The two boys go to meet the train to take them to their induction into the Marines.
Throughout the movie, we’re shown the bows “racing” a local freight train, but running up to it and jumping on while it’s moving.
They do the same thing, here, letting the train leave without them, then running after and jumping on before giving a cheesy wave to Henry’s family.
I think it would have been far more poignant to show them getting on the train like normal adults, signifying that their childhood has truly ended, as they head off to face the horrors of combat in the Pacific. The “ending” of this movie is unknown. We don’t know what will happen. Putting this campy scene on the end feels cheap. -Michael
There was a scene where the boys were trying to be pool sharks, but got taken by better sharks. This was actually a great scene leading up to a bit of a let down performance by Nic trying to con his way out of the situation. -Sarah
How was the movie?
Honestly, this is a really well done movie. The acting is great, the directing is great (there’s an extended pool playing scene that isn’t boring. Can you believe it?). The story feels real. It isn’t my kind of film, but it’s genuinely good. -Michael
The movie was great. Easily the best so far in Nic’s early career. I know it won’t stay on the top of the list long, but it was a good movie. -Sarah
Yeah, but did you like it?
I did. This is exactly the kind of movie that I would avoid if I read the description, but this movie is good, and I enjoyed it. This is, in my opinion, the best Nicolas Cage movie that we’ve watched, so far. -Michael
Yes. I would even recommend it. It’s worth checking out. -Sarah
Where can I watch it?
You can rent it on YouTube or Amazon Prime.
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