REVIEW: ‘Dream Scenario’ is wonderfully creative and comedic

Meeting Nicolas Cage would probably be a cool experience, but having it be during a dream could be a bit much if it’s anything like this film.

That’s the situation many people have to go through in the movie “Dream Scenario,” though, where Cage plays Paul, a man who ends up appearing in random peoples’ dreams. A college professor, Paul’s appearances in dreams begin with his own family, then to his students, followed by the general populace.

Paul has been struggling lately, not able to move his career forward, so at first he welcomes the new popularity. However, it begins to be an overwhelming experience. Additionally, while he at first did nothing in the dreams, people who see Paul in their sleep begin having terrifying nightmares, which turns him into an antagonist for many.

A lot of “Dream Scenario” succeeds simply on its premise alone. There’s a lot of funny moments produced by Cage’s character showing up casually in dreams at first as just an observer and later as basically a slasher villain.

The comedy is powered even more when Paul interacts with those same people who had the dream and has to sometimes apologize despite not having done anything wrong. It’s entertaining to watch Paul, who’s a bit of an awkward guy without great social skills, try to deal with the situation.

The film also earns praise, though, with its social commentary. The movie satirizes the culture of instant celebrity, social media reactions, commercialization and the process of cancellation. The way Paul is elevated and then brought back down to Earth is well shown here.

These aren’t necessarily new matters to take jabs at, but “Dream Scenario takes them on with plenty of wit and the dream premise adds freshness to the scenario. Plus, it feels impactful because it’s happening to a guy you can’t help but sympathize with. 

While the film’s premise, comedy and commentary work quite well, though, it does hit a bit of a snag story-wise. The film has a solid build-up for the first two thirds, but the final act feels somewhat narratively lost. That’s not to say the film has a bad ending or completely loses a viewer in the final third, but there is a feeling of messiness, it’s simply not as tight as it was earlier.

With that said, a lot is made up for thanks to Cage’s performance. The actor’s unique ability to display manic, wild characteristics, while also being able to showcase a grounded, normal personality is a great fit for Paul. Cage is able to portray Paul’s increasingly frightening dream version of himself as well as the character’s real, somewhat inept self.

Director and writer Kristoffer Borgli, who’s made a career with several short films, does nice work with this picture by showing how dreams can range from the mundane to the bizarre. Both the writing and how the film is set up visually capture the intimate nature of dreams, the awkwardness of them, the wonder of them, and more.

This is a really solid dramatic comedy with a capable cast, especially with Cage’s performance in the mix. The story could have been more fleshed out, but for the most part this works. 4 out of 5.