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The Wicker Man

Swan dives into bad-movie bliss

By BRETT MICHEL | September 6, 2006

2.0 Stars

Neil LaBute dusts off the Edward Woodward/Christopher Lee relic, an effective 1973 curio that pitted Christianity against Paganism. Neil being Neil, he shifts the battle lines to men versus women, resurrecting old accusations of misogyny in the process. Troubled California cop Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) exits his jurisdiction and enters the matriarchal colony of Summersisle, a private island off the coast of Washington, in his search for Rowan (Erika-Shaye Gair), the missing daughter of Willow Woodward (Kate Beahan), his former fiancée. Even with its kitschy musical numbers and copious nudity (particularly Britt Ekland’s memorable merging of the two), the original never dipped into self-parody. Here, a bemused Cage, dressed in a bear suit (!), bashes a succession of women’s faces as he confronts Ellen Burstyn’s Sister Summersisle (her face resembling a crazed Dallas Cowboys fan) in the fiery climax, a swan dive into bad-movie bliss.

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The Wicker Man's official Web site:http://thewickermanmovie.warnerbros.com/

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