Nic Cage's new movie is great, and very topical for FTC

If you haven’t gotten the chance to see Nic Cage’s new movie, Pig, I urge you to do so, even if normally “Nic Cage” movies are not your thing. He gives an amazing performance, surrounded by other excellent players like Adam Arkin.

The summary: Thieves steal Nic Cage’s beloved pig. He must go get it back. The film will touch heavily on food, cooking, restaurants, and other highly relevant FTC subjects.

I think it’s best if you go in with no more expectation than that, but for a more thorough overview:

Thumbs way WAY up. Make dinner reservations for after. You’ll probably be hungry.

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Glad to hear this, as I thought the trailer looked good but was on the fence about seeing the movie. You never know if you’re going to get Adaptation Cage or National Treasure Cage.

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This is DEFINITELY more ‘Adaptation / Leaving Las Vegas’ Cage, as opposed to ‘Face/Off / Vampire’s Kiss’ Cage…

I mean, I love both, but I understand it’s not for everyone.

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i love all versions of Nick Cage.

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Just bumping this to note that Pig is now streaming on Hulu, for those that didn’t catch it in the theater (understandable these days).

Again, this is highly recommended. Did anyone else see it? What’d you think?

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I’ll watch it, but I’m afraid it’s going to be set in an alternate universe where Oregon truffles are worth hunting.

I’ve only ever had black truffle shaved over pasta and cheese. Delicious, of course. I’ve never had white, and I have no idea what the differences might be between the European varieties and ones in the PNW.

What’s the difference in flavor? Price? Do places sub one for the other?

There are many species of truffles. The famous and expensive ones are Perigord black (Tuber melanosporum) and Alba white (Tuber magnatum Pico). Burgundy truffles aka summer truffles (Tuber uncinatum) are pretty good and not cheap but definitely a step down.

In Oregon they have several indigenous varieties that are much cheaper because they have relatively little going on.

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Oregon truffles are very popular. I don’t use them at the restaurant as much as I used to, mainly because I can afford to use the Périgord truffle and the Australian black truffle that we get in summer. They have a longer shelf life and a little bit more of a pungent aroma, and to my tastes, are a little bit better of a truffle.

The "salted baguette’’ seems to be a figment of someone’s imagination. The bakery the producer said it came from doesn’t make baguettes.

Those were great articles. Thanks for hi lighting them.

I took it to be a kind of fable in a stylized world and enjoyed it in that context. Cage delivered a solid performance as a Buddha-like chef.

Cage spent some time training in Gabriel Rucker’s kitchen but the filmmakers weren’t quite able to convey his culinary prowess when the time came.

Definitely worth a look.

I love Pig. It feels like the world of restaurants I aways imagined when you hear like “this chef got his start at such and such kitchen under so and so. That line was brutal. A lot of good cooks came through there and went on to start their own projects.”

In the best way I feel like Pig could have been a video game. You get to be Nic Cage. Kinda LA Noire style

I didn’t love the scene in the fine dining place. It felt a little heavyhanded but maybe that’s cause I worked in restaurants. My friend who never worked in restaurants loved that scene. I can appreciate it more on a rewatch now.

That said, maybe for the exact same reason I totally loved the bakery scene.

I liked this discussion, especially because not all of them enjoyed Pig. One of the best lines was something like “I could have watched a story set in the world of Pig for hours.”

Discussion starts ~30 minute mark

It’s a dark, dreamlike fantasy, nothing to do with the reality of the truffle or restaurant businesses. Maybe the forager’s cabin was relatively true to life. I enjoyed it but at some of its more preposterous bits I had to pause playback to stop laughing. Great look, pacing, and cast.

"That line was brutal, but not brutal enough, so after work we went to an underground fight club."

Lol you’re right overall

Maybe a better way to put it is I’m cool with the bullshit romanticism, even where it doesn’t work, and I enjoy the fantastic elements.

There’s definitely someone out there who could make a better version of Pig. But I’m glad this movie exists

I enjoyed it more than Brody even if I agree with parts of what he says

The better version of Pig would be set in Italy and called Dog.

The Eater reviewer really hated it. I get his points but if you can’t go along with the imaginary weirdness … don’t watch any superhero movies?

This roundtable with other Eater staff is more balanced.

Oh yeah the idea that “Nobody wants pubs around here” … in… PORTLAND??

I watched it . Somewhat dark . Plenty of chances to wash his face ." Where’s my pig ."

That eater review dude is so mad at the film lol I remember reading that review when it came out. He seems hung up on…everything? I think some food-world people can’t see the forest for the trees.

Cage says early on he doesn’t need the Pig to find truffles. He simply loves and cares for the Pig. There’s no economic incentive to finding her.

My take on Darius is: As told by Amir, the only time he ever saw his mom smile was when she and Darius ate at Hestia. Darius can’t stand seeing Amir find success with Cage. He’s willing to buy Cage another Pig because he knows it’s more than that.

I can’t figure out why people are disappointed this isn’t John Wick or Taken but with a Pig

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