"Did I ever tell ya that this here jacket represents a symbol of my individuality, and my belief in personal freedom?"*

Original AVQ&A**: This question was prompted by a commenter in the post about Ryan Adams and Mandy Moore. He mentioned that Moore got a pass for doing Saved! In your case, which artist gets a lifetime pass from you, whatever else he/she may do?

SPCHQ A: Nicolas Cage gets a "lifetime pass" from me. Given that he's made many truly horrible movies, that's a monster-sized lifetime pass. Maybe it's because I saw him (and his odd, t-bone shaped chest hair at the time) in Valley Girl when I was at an especially impressionable age (trailer below), maybe it's because I don't mind watching big, dumb, explosion-y action movies, or maybe it's because occasionally (unfortunately, too occasionally these days) he makes an excellent movie, but I will never slag Nicolas Cage as an actor. For every Ghost Rider, City of Angels, 8MM, Gone in 60 Seconds, there's an Adaptation, Wild at Heart, Leaving Las Vegas, Bringing Out the Dead, Raising Arizona, or even a National Treasure (oh, hush, it was fun) to balance it out.

In addition, Nicolas Cage just has an appealing personality. With a combination of an off-screen perpetually half-asleep surfer dude voice, willingness to try any role (e.g., he's voicing a guinea pig in the upcoming G-Force and then Dr. Tenma in Astro Boy), and obsession with comic books (taking his stage name from comic book hero Luke Cage, and naming his son Kal-El), what's not to like?

If I'm channel surfing and come across one of Nic's films, I'll usually stop and watch a while, if not to the conclusion.*** That's the true sign that he's got a lifetime pass from me.

-----------------------------

* From Wild at Heart.

** This feature is cribbed from the AV Club, AVQ&A, where staffers answer a pop culture related question. Read who gets their lifetime passes.

***Except for the remake of The Wicker Man. Not even the sight of Nic stumbling around in a bear suit and attacked by bees could salvage that steaming pile of cinematic crap.