Unlike the recent regeneration of old-man clout in the music industry (Morrisey! Leonard Cohen! Yes, they’re still alive.), the film industry has been experiencing something a little different. We might call it the Nicolas Cage Phenomenon: a dirty rash of films characterized by disaster, ancient talismans, and men sporting long, formless hairdos that try to combat receding hairlines. That is to say, a bunch of middle-aged actors with exhaustive repertoires, such as Nicolas Cage and Tom Hanks, have been turning out increasingly successful but mediocre films.

Besides telling them to JUST CUT IT OFF! Bald is distinguished!, it might help to remind these guys that their current fame rides on their quirky roles from the past. There’s no point hoping actors will relinquish the way they make big bucks. But as movie-goers, we can at least try to appreciate what once was.

Consider Nick Cage himself: he hasn’t delivered a solid performance since Matchstick Men. But despite his current every-man characters, Cage is an excellent performer. When he’s on his game, he is particularly suited for the southern outlaw character, a role he has consistently delivered on several occasions, including Wild at Heart, Raising Arizona, and Rumblefish. His dedication to fully assuming a role is especially evident in Wild at Heart. In the film, the Snakeskin jacket that becomes a symbol of Sailor Ripley’s eccentricity was not originally in the script or the book. It was Cage’s suggested to director David Lynch. Lynch wrote the idea into the film, and it has since become one of the things to iconify the character of Sailor Ripley. At no point does the character ever come off as unbelievable.

Another memorable Cage performance is his role in Leaving Las Vegas, for which he won the best actor Oscar. Cage portrays a man who has been laid off and goes to Vegas to drink himself to death. Cage brings an essential level of sadness to the character that a lesser actor might not have been able to capture. His task was to create a despicable drunk, but at the same time a completely redeemable individual. Cage does this so well that you can’t help but follow his every emotional up and down.

Perhaps Cage’s best performance, however, is in Adaptation. In this film, Cage succeeds in crafting not one, but two magnificent characters. Charlie Kauffman is a fast-talking, overweight, middle aged screenwriter based on the actual screenwriter Charlie Kauffman. Donald is his fictionalized twin brother, struggling to survive by trying his hand at screen writing. When Donald begins to succeed, it brings out the dejected, subtle depression of sibling rivalry in Charles, mixed with his disappointment of being overshadowed by a first-timer in his craft. At the same time, Cage is able to maintain the sort of ignorant success of Donald who is only too happy with himself and completely ignorant of his brother’s true feelings.

ational Treasure and its sequel, The Book of Secrets, might have collectively grossed over $200 million, but their plot-driven and sensationalist popularity will never match the studied and eccentric qualities of films like Adaptation and Wild at Heart. While actors like Cage and Hanks may stray into roles fit for box office success, there are still some fans out there who’d like the old Cage back.