Peggy Sue Got Married (1986): This is the Darkest Timeline [Joey’s Review]
For as important and influential as BACK TO THE FUTURE is, it’s sort of surprising how little you hear about PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED. While some many casually dismiss it as nothing more than “Back to the Future for girls,” Peggy Sue Got Married is a tremendously enjoyable film, and the first true Cage Role (as in the type of heightened performance we’ve come to know and love from him throughout his career.)
Because the film’s story is told around a framework of time travel, we’re granted the wonderful privilege of not one but TWO tremendous Cage introductions. We’re thrust into the film with the first of these introductions, as we seen an aged Cage hocking discounted appliances in an Crazy Eddie-like TV commercial. With some added wrinkles, grey hair, and other aging prosthetics, it’s a little alarming how similar this mid-1980s era Cage, aged 25 years, looks like his modern day real-life incarnation. (The only real difference is his hair; the costuming crew was a little more generous to his hairline than time has been.) This is the first time we’ve seen Cage not play his age, but he’s only this old for a few minutes in the film; most of the story takes place in 1960, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
The star of the film is Kathleen Turner, who plays the titular Peggy Sue. After getting knocked up by Charlie Bodell (Cage) on her 18th birthday, the two got married and trapped Peggy Sue into a life she didn’t envision for herself. As the film begins, though, she’s tasked to face her past head-on: she’s headed to her 25 year high school reunion. Because she’s not happy with her life — and because she’s on the verge of a divorce from Cage — she doesn’t want to go to her reunion. Convinced to attend by her daughter, played by Helen Hunt, Peggy Sue dons her prom dress (for some reason) and heads off to confront her past.
She (almost literally) has no other choice. Upon entering her reunion, she finds the walls are covered in blown up yearbook pictures, portraying a happier time in her life — one where she was in love with Charlie. All of her friends and classmates are loving their pictures on the wall, though; they pose in front of them and make the same face and hang out in front of them so they’re more easily recognized. One of these classmates is Jim Carrey (!), who has a slight Cage-nection in his future: he’ll be in Kick-Ass 2, but will never directly cross paths with Cage again.
Most of the reason why Peggy Sue was willing to go to her reunion was the assurance that Charlie wouldn’t be there. Only a few minutes into the scene, however, who appears? You guessed it: Nicolas Cage! He’s suddenly the hit of the party, much to Peggy Sue’s dismay. He’s not enough of a hit to win Reunion King (which is apparently a thing); that honor, instead, goes to the nerd-turned-billionaire (again, more on him later). Who, oh who, will our Reunion Queen be? You guessed it again (you’re really good at this game!): Peggy Sue! She’s brought up to stage as the in-house band covers Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue.”
Here’s my first big question of the movie: was Peggy Sue named as such because of that song? Mike says he thinks it’s just a common name of the time, which is true. But I have a sneaking suspicion that this film (as well as Prom Night 2: Hello Mary Lou) were named after the songs. It doesn’t matter, but it’s fun (?) to think about.
All this drama is too much for Peggy Sue, who collapses. We’re then suddenly shimmied back to 1960! A simpler time, and one with far less aging makeup needed. Peggy Sue wakes up on a blood donation bed, having presumably passed out in 1960. Unlike other time travel movies, she doesn’t transport her entire body back; instead, her 1985 consciousness is inserted into her 1960 body. Mike talks about this in his review and on the podcast, but it’s much the same way Desmond time traveled in the all-time best episode of LOST, “The Constant.” (Maybe we’ll have a LOST club…)
Because we’re 25 years earlier, we’re graced with yet ANOTHER wonderful Cage intro. Peggy Sue is wholly disoriented, and thinks she’s dead. She asks as such, and Cage approaches her as a vampire, telling her that he wants to suck her blood. Oh, Charlie! Always a jokester. This doesn’t do much to assuage Peggy Sue’s fears, and by the time school ends and she heads home, she thinks it’s all just a dream.
Speaking of her family, who plays her sister? None other than DOMINO herself! Except for the first time (in a Cage film, anyway), she’s not credited as Domino, but rather as Sofia Coppola. She’s much more recognizable in this role, and has a bigger part than her previous two combined (though none of the three are really very meaty).
Because Peggy Sue thinks its a dream, the normal rules of life don’t apply. She drinks a lot (much to her father’s dismay), and threatens to “go to Liverpool and discover the Beatles!” I love this little aside. It’s such a nice touch.
I don’t want to stray too far from Cage. This is CageClub, after all. While it’s Peggy Sue’s movie, Cage is the male romantic lead — and my oh my, what a romantic lead he is. Every one of his acting choices is amazing. Mike describes it best: he’s trying to embody the awkwardness of a teenage boy of the era. Whether or not that’s what you think he accomplishes, this is a role to admire. IMDb says he modeled his voice after Pokey (the horse) from Gumby. Somehow, it’s even weirder than that. Along with his mannerisms, Charlie Bodell seems like he’d be the most awkward boy in history — except he’s one of the cool kids because he’s a killer crooner.
Not heeding the advice given in just about every other time travel movie, Peggy Sue sets out to actively change history. It’s at this point that you have to consider the rules of time travel movies. In theory, Peggy Sue has always gone back in time to this period. Who knows where her consciousness during the week when she was actually 18 years old and was inhabited by 43 year old Peggy Sue, but time travel theory suggests she’s always gone back in time. It’s because of this return trip that she turns that nerd into a billionaire; she gives him advice about smaller electronics (but bigger stereos!) and a general overview of “high tech.”
This creates somewhat of a paradox, but that’s what time travel movies are all about. It’s kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy. She told the nerd about these inventions, which enabled him to invent them… which is the only reason she knew about them in the first place. Huh? Exactly. It’s not important to analyze the time travel elements of this movie too much, though; it’s not really a “time travel movie,” but instead a love story told through the mechanism of time travel. I love its inclusion, but it’s not meant to be analyzed… especially when you consider the possibility that she didn’t go back in time at all! The movie also works if you think about her trip like Dorothy’s in THE WIZARD OF OZ. Whatever actually happened is anyone’s guess; I’m just here for the ride.
Back to Cage and his mannerisms: he heads to Peggy Sue’s house to pick her up for a party and proceeds to eat a rice krispie treat in the most delightful way possible. I can’t properly articulate how much joy this scene gave me. He’s SO awkward in everything he does — even eating, one of the easiest things in the world to do!
Once she accepts that she’s stuck in 1960 for the long haul (at least, for a while, anyway), Peggy Sue’s primary goal is to create a better past for herself. Aside from giving out billion-dollar ideas like they’re pennies, she pursues the loner beatnik bad boy whom she always admired from afar. She vacillates between affection, indifference, and contempt for Cage, and really wants to play the field. But she can’t hold back her crush when she hears Cage and his buddies crooning at the party. (I’m really not sure what kind of party this is, but I love it nonetheless.) She falls in love with him all over again, even knowing how poorly it all turns out.
Her lust for Cage leads to my favorite scene in the film, and one of my favorites so far in CageClub. The two travel to makeout point, and she tells him she wants to make love to him. Being the immensely awkward 18 year old he is, Charlie doesn’t know how to react. He awkwardly laughs and stutters a refusal: “Sex? … You mean… intercourse?” She tells him something like “she wants his member,” which leads to Cage asking, “You mean my… huh-wang?” It’s the best line evereverever.
Fed up with his prudishness, Peggy Sue seeks out that loser beatnik. After finding him at a diner, the two ride off to another makeout point, where they smoke a joint and get freaky (is that a 1960s term?). HOWEVER, this is not until after he reads her some of his awful, awful poetry. Get lost, dude. You’re no Cage, and your poetry is the worst.
Much of the rest of the film has Peggy Sue playing hot/cold with Cage. In some scenes, she loves him. In others, she hates him. There’s no real rhyme or reason to explain how she’ll feel toward him. I think due to this crazed behavior, Cage can’t take it anymore; he sneaks into her house at night, and into her room, and almost smothers her with a pillow. (What?! Yes.) He can’t go through with it, though, and she wakes up. The two head down to the basement and have an argument that’s 25 years in the making, except Cage has only spent about 3 weeks in rocky relationship town.
Cage defends himself in this argument, and rightfully he should. He’s Nicolas Cage, dammit! Peggy Sue should be flattered to be dating him! But she tells him that his singing career isn’t going to pan out, and he should give up his dream. Furious at her behavior and her cruel words, he storms out… apparently, to go write a song about this experience. He performs this song at another diner, where a record producer is there to possibly sign him to a record deal. He’s not into Cage’s performance, but Peggy Sue just so happens to be there, talking that stupid beatnik again. He wants to run off to Utah with Peggy Sue; rightfully, she declines. (Utah is great, but not with this bozo.) Peggy Sue kind of falls in love with Cage again (it’s the magnetism of his performance, after all), and this time, it kind-of-sort-of sticks.
Except not really? She’s hot and cold toward him again, but this time for a good(ish) reason. In her original timeline, she got knocked up by Charlie on her 18th birthday, leading her down the path she’s on. As her birthday draws nearer, she realizes she’s getting closer and closer to being locked into this reality forever. To escape her past (present? future?), she decides to spend the day at her grandparents’ house. This is such a sweet touch, as the two have both died in the 25 years between Peggy Sue timelines. It’s one of a handful of ways Peggy Sue re-lives the moments of the past when we all wish we were a little more attentive and present.
In a weird, weird twist, it turns out her grandfather is a member of some secret society that’s founded by time travelers, and an organization that shepherds them when they’re in trouble or need to get back home. They begin a ritual to return her to 1985, and she vanishes! They celebrate and start playing cards. You know: guy stuff.
Except she doesn’t really vanish. Cage kidnaps her from their lodge so that he can confess his love to her. Once again, though, it’s all too much for Peggy Sue. She’s (presumably) where she got pregnant from Charlie in her original timeline, he’s confessing his love to her, and he gives her a locket that she’s worn ever since. This combination of factors leads her to pass out… and wake up back in 1985! She’s in a hospital with Cage and Helen Hunt by her side. Whatever alterations she made to the past have been minimal at best, and she returns to her normal life… and invites Cage over for dinner at “his” house with “his” family. You see? All it takes to solve a rocky relationship is spending a week 25 years earlier! Why don’t more marriage counselors try that?!
How can I watch it? You can rent this movie for $2.99 on Amazon. I love this movie. You should watch it.
What’s up next? It’s my FAVORITE Nicolas Cage movie: Raising Arizona!
