The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Director: Tom Gormican

Writer: Tom Gormican, Kevin Etten

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Horgan, Paco Leon, Neil Patrick Harris, Lily Mo Sheen

Reason for watching: Nicolas Cage giving a master class on playing himself is always a reason to go to the theater

Number of times I’ve watched it: first-time viewing

***

While we were driving home from this movie, Jane and I struck up a discussion. Could any other actor possibly have a movie like this? We circled a couple of options, but we kept going back to the truth that no one has the same eccentricity as Nicolas Cage. The hyper-seriousness and odd sense of comedy he possesses are unmatched. Even for a place full of weird folks like Hollywood, Cage stands out. And a movie like The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is exactly what allows Mr. Cage to show off that particular set of skills he has.

The most self-referential story this side of Deadpool 2 follows Nicholas Cage through a troubling time in his career. Down on his luck and in need of money, he takes a million-dollar offer to attend a birthday party for a wealthy fan, Javier (Pedro Pascal). The two develop an unlikely friendship over time, bonding over cliff-jumping and Paddington 2 of all things. However, Cage finds himself caught in the cross of some espionage when he is approached by the CIA. Javier turns out to be a powerful cartel leader, and the government needs all the help they can get to take him down. Their friendship gets in the way of Cage doing the legally correct thing, and Javier’s overbearing cousin pushes him toward taking out his new superstar pal. Together, the two friends will have to find their way out of the mess they are in.

Now without question, this entire movie could not exist without the excellence that is Cage and his varied and insane career. The sheer insanity that is his filmography is the backdrop of this entire movie. So he deserves credit for making a movie like this even possible. But I have to say in all honestly, that he is outweirded by Pascal here. For real, the goofiness that Pascal brings is hysterical and plays perfectly again the straight man his co-star is playing. It is a great role for Pascal, allowing him to show off some range instead of the IP-laden work he has been doing the last couple of years.

Although the action does not show up until the 3rd act really, it is still a ton of fun. We even get to see Cage whip out his golden guns from Face/Off. The comedy here is so unique that it really cannot fall into a standard comedy category. Closest comparison I can think of would be something like 21 Jumpstreet or Deadpool where the comedy is so zany and out there while having a fun amount of action. It is incredibly self-referential, particularly in one scene where Javier shows off his collection of Nicholas Cage memorabilia (which did not include anything from Ghost Rider which made me sad). It brings up an important question in my mind actually: how close can we get to the fourth wall without breaking it?

My biggest criticism of the movie comes down to the final act. The final few scenes seem to be skipping information or conversations that are important to the plot. While I appreciate the hour-and-forty-minute runtime, I would be fine to watch the extra twenty minutes or so so the final ending would flow easier. Also, the literal second-to-last scene in this movie feels like an exact ripoff of Tropic Thunder. But I suppose the irreverent nature of these two movies lines up, and it is not exactly plagiarism. Plus it is Nick Cage. The man is a landmark in overacting, which is the entire premise of Tropic Thunder. Anyway, almost anyone will like this movie.

7/10

Until I see another one.

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