Review of Leaving Las Vegas (1995) by Fuggit — 30 Oct 2020

Dreadfully-written story with one-note characters who aren't performed well. The script is written as a romantic drama but feels like a dark comedy. As far as unintentionally funny Nicolas Cage performances go, this one is pretty decent. Don't expect a nuanced portrayal of alcoholism here, it's just belligerent behavior that would be best suited for a comedy.

All of the hype comes from the director using 16mm film which gave it an arthouse look at a time when that wasn't commonplace. This movie has nothing else going for it. The moments without Cage are vapid, boring, and/or unnecessarily depressing. Overall, I'd say this film is what The Room could've been with a bigger budget. It makes about as much sense and has just as much artistic merit.