It’s been 20 years since the release of John Woo’s cult fave Face/Off, in which John Travolta’s character, predominantly “played” by Nicolas Cage, swaps faces with Nicolas Cage’s character, adeptly “acted” by John Travolta. At this point, the movie’s crazy, ridiculous plot and off-the-wall, absurdist performances from its leads have been so meticulously marveled at and celebrated that it would seem nearly impossible to have much left to effectively say about it. That didn’t stop the Honest Trailer folks from taking aim at the face-swapping, face-touching, and many, many plot holes. (How did their partners not notice their sudden change in physical builds? “Dong Off is a very different movie.”) Rest assured, “It all makes sense … if you’re on a lot of cocaine.”
The video will make you long for the equally bizarre movie that might have been, had it starred Schwarzenegger and Stallone, as the writers originally intended. But it also reminds you why Travolta and Cage make such a perfect pair to watch impersonate one another for two hours, having gone on parallel journeys from Oscar-worthy actors to jokes to Oscar-worthy actors again, only to realize “it’s way more fun to be ridiculous.”
Ultimately, as the Honest Trailer captures, it’s the over-the-top insanity of Face/Off that makes it such an enduring classic: “Confused? Don’t worry. So is everyone else.”
