Nicolas Cage confronts his larger-than-life persona in this brilliant meta-infused action comedy.
★★★★★
Nick Cage is Nick Cage. That’s the simple, yet hugely appealing premise to The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which proves to be one of the best big-budget comedies in years.
Nicolas Cage (playing an elevated parody of himself) gives an atomic performance in this supercharged crowd-pleaser that combs through the good, the bad, and the bonkers of the superstar’s now 40-year career.
The plot kicks off with Nick missing out on a dream role following an aggressive (and hilariously unsolicited line read). The news forces Nick to confront the fact that his career has taken a recent dip in quality—taking on big money roles for movies like Croods 2 which are at odds with his more eclectic taste as a film buff. The problems extend to his personal life where his narcissism has left him estranged from his daughter Addy (Lily Sheen) and ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan). It’s amongst all of this that Nick decides to step away from the noble tradition of acting and announce his retirement.
That is until Nick’s agent (Neil Patrick Harris) suggests he takes a million dollar-gig attending superfan Javi’s birthday party (played by Pedro Pascal). There he becomes entangled in a kidnapping conspiracy and must, under pressure from the CIA, step into the role of a thespian one last time to play the role he was born to play—himself.
This may sound a lot like Tropic Thunder to fans of Ben Stiller’s Vietnam War inspired film-within-a-film, and Unbearable Weight shares a similar—if altogether less crude—tone. Plenty of jokes poke fun at the disparity between playing an action hero working for the CIA, and actually being one; Nick can certainly “talk the talk”, but the second things get heated and bullets start to fly, he tends to crumble under the weight of the situation.
All this proves to be as hilarious as you’d expect, and a pacey script from Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten provides plenty of moments of “divine inspiration” for Cage to really let loose. What’s surprising, however, is how the screenwriters work in a far more nuanced story about narcissism and neglect where we become far more invested in Nick healing his personal relationships than the action itself.
Special props have to go to Pedro Pascal who, as Nicolas Cage superfan Javi, matches Cage’s energy levels and perfectly complements his emotional arc. The two share a deep bromance that is as ridiculous as it is endearing. Such is the chemistry between the two that when conflict inevitably rears its ugly head we’d rather see the two hug it out than trade blows. How’s that for massive talent?
The Verdict
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a comedy for the ages. Nicolas Cage is at his most meme-able best and perfectly complemented by an endearing Pedro Pascal. The film is funny and heartfelt in all the right places.
Words by Jake Abatan
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