After he built a career as a quirky character actor, Nicolas Cage said “I want me some of that big Hollywood money” in the mid-1990s. He did become a fairly legitimate action star for a while, but that status faded and Cage wound up in scores of crap that he clearly shot just for the paycheck, a factor exacerbated by some financial troubles.

In more recent years, however, Cage has shown a willingness to re-embrace the sorts of unusual flicks he made in his youth. For an example of this trend, we go to 2023’s Dream Scenario.

University professor Paul Matthews (Cage) leads a fairly low-key life, though he wishes he enjoyed greater prominence, at least in his chosen field. This anonymity begins to fade when he gradually creeps into the dreams of strangers.

This odd phenomenon accelerates rapidly and turns Paul into a strange form of celebrity. Paul needs to deal with his newfound fame as well as the ramifications that come when these dreams lean toward a darker side.

Without question, that offers a clever premise. The question becomes whether or not Scenario can do much with its concept.

I went into Scenario with some apprehension, as I feared the goofiness of the basic idea would act as the movie’s sole positive attribute. Scenario could easily turn into an exercise in quirks without much else to say for it.

Cage’s performance adds some fuel to that fire, as he never plays Paul in an especially realistic way. He adopts a goofy voice and portrays the lead in a semi-cartoony manner.

This becomes an odd mismatch with everyone else in the film, as all the other actors portray their roles in natural tones. While I don’t think Cage’s choices actively harm the movie, they do create distractions.

After all, the basic notion at work here stems from Paul’s anonymous vibe. We need to see him as the guy no one notices or remembers.

However, Cage plays Paul as such an awkward weirdo that it seems unlikely others would regard him as so forgettable. They might see him as bizarre but not a generic everyman.

This doesn’t turn into the proverbial fatal flaw, but it does mean Scenario works less well than it could. With a Paul who seems more stable and normal, the story simply makes more sense.

Despite this drawback, Scenario maintains a good pace and never becomes less than entertaining. As noted, the premise remains clever and the development means we stick with it from start to finish.

Don’t expect a whole lot of insight along the way, however, as Scenario brings a fairly superficial dissection of fame circa the 2020s. Sure, it touches on the ways society now greets – and quickly turns on – those with tenuous connections to notoriety, but it doesn’t find a whole lot to say that seems especially fruitful.

In other words, Scenario hits on a lot of points that feel obvious. The film’s pursuit of its subject fails to find much that comes across as fresh.

Still, I like the concept and the execution remains enjoyable. Though not an especially substantial essay on fame and social media, Scenario still works for the most part.

Dream Scenario appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Shot on Super 16mm, Scenario suffered from the stock’s limitations but still usually looked fine.

Many of the concerns stemmed from iffy definition. Close-ups looked good, and most wider exteriors showed decent detail. However, anything wider lacked great delineation and could veer toward the mushy side.

I noticed no issues with jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes failed to manifest themselves. Outside of some added specks at the start, print flaws didn’t become an issue.

In terms of colors, Scenario opted for a fairly orange and teal vibe, with some reds and blues as well. The hues seemed fine, it not impactful. Blacks were reasonably deep and dense, while shadows were acceptable. They could be a little murky, but that wasn’t a serious issue. Given lowered expectations that related to Super16, this seemed like an adequate presentation.

Don’t expect much from the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, as it used the spectrum in a subdued manner. Given the film’s character focus, this came as no surprise.

That said, the glimpses of dreams added a bit of pizzazz at times and offered the film’s most engaging moments. Still, these popped up sporadically, so much of the soundscape remained subdued.

Audio quality worked fine. Dialogue felt reasonably natural and concise, without edginess or other issues.

Music showed nice range and impact, as the various songs and score packed a good sense of dynamics. Effects appeared accurate and tight. This turned into a fairly satisfying soundtrack for a character tale.

A few extras appear, and we find an audio commentary from writer/director Kristoffer Borgli. He presents a running, screen-specific discussion of the project's origins and development, story/characters, influences and inspirations, sets and locations, photography and visual design, cast and performances, music, wardrobe and connected domains.

After a slow start, Borgli rounds into form and gives us a pretty solid look at the film. He claims to participate under duress - he states the studio forced him to do a commentary - but he nonetheless provides a worthwhile discussion.

Dream Like Nobody’s Watching spans nine minutes, 21 seconds. It comes with info from Borgli, costume designer Natalie Bronfman, production designer Zosia Mackenzie, and actors Nicolas Cage, Lily Bird, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Dylan Gelula, Kate Berlant, and Jessica Clement.

“Watching” covers story/characters, cast and performances, wardrobe, the dream scenes, and Borgli’s style. A few insights emerge but most of “Watching” feels promotional.

Three Deleted Scenes occupy a total of one minute, 30 seconds. As implied by that brief running time, these don’t give us much.

We get some short tidbits without a lot to them. While not unpleasant, they fail to add anything noteworthy.

Also from A24 includes ads for The Iron Claw, Priscilla, Talk to Me and Beau Is Afraid. No trailer for Scenario appears here.

A second disc provides a DVD copy of Scenario. It comes with the same extras as the Blu-ray.

As a commentary on fame circa the 2020s, Dream Scenario delivers a nimble but less than insightful take. While the movie entertains, it makes obvious points and doesn’t really show much depth. The Blu-ray comes with acceptable picture and audio as well as a small mix of bonus materials. The film merits a look but doesn’t quite live up to expectations.