“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” Review
(From Left) Pedro Pascal and Nicolas Cage strike up an adorably insane friendship in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” where Cage plays himself.
Nicolas Cage is easily one of the most fascinating actors of all time. When he’s good, he’s really good in films like “Moonstruck,” “Leaving Las Vegas” and “Face-Off.” But when he’s in a bad film, it’s even better as Cage’s over-the-top acting style frequently works across his entire filmography. Now, Nicolas Cage has decided to take on his most challenging role: himself. The latest film in Cage’s massive filmography, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” is a marvelous comedy and a delight to watch in theaters.
After a long career, Nicolas Cage is currently in a slump with very few people interested in his skills as an actor and strained relationships with his ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and daughter Addy (Lily Sheen). When charismatic billionaire Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal) invites Cage to his birthday party for a million dollars, the actor has no choice but to go. After bonding with Javi, who is a massive fan of Cage’s work, Cage is hired by the CIA to spy on Javi who turns out to be the head of a weapons trafficking cartel.
Like most of his films, Nicolas Cage makes this story work. Not only does he bring his brilliant comedic timing and delightfully awkward charm to the role, he has a tremendous sense of humor about himself. It’s no secret that Cage stars in a lot of films and not all of them have been good. Cage embraces this and keeps moving forward as someone who loves making movies and is also a true thespian.
When Cage goes to the island and meets Javi, it’s the start of an amazing bromance. Their friendship is endearing as Javi wants Cage to read his screenplay, shoot guns and watch “Paddington 2.” Pedro Pascal is having the time of his life acting with Cage and it shows in every single scene they’re together.
Throughout the film, all kinds of crazy events occur when Cage finds out that Javi may not be as clean as he appears to be. When Cage gets recruited by the CIA, what follows is an amazing extravaganza of car chases, gun fights and Cage acting with his usual flair of brilliant madness.
However, while Cage and Pascal are a lot of fun, there was something to be desired from the supporting characters. This is especially clear in the two CIA agents (Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz) who try to get Cage to become an undercover agent. These are two very talented, funny people but their lines just aren’t that humorous. I think that these supporting characters could have been improved but they don’t distract from all the fun.
This is a Nicolas Cage film that is funny on purpose. When watching the film with a packed audience, we were all holding our sides because of how hard we were laughing. Seeing Cage and Pascal trying to keep their bromance together while on opposing sides is both hilarious and endearing.
Underneath it all, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” is going to appeal to many kinds of audiences. Big fans of Nicolas Cage will love the film’s inside jokes about his acting style and his filmography while casual fans will get sucked into the humor and action. For those that love Nicolas Cage for all of his strange quirks as a performer, this is a unique film that gives us an entertaining look at what happens when the real Nic Cage is set loose in this crazy world.
