The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Director: Tom Gormican
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Neil Patrick Harris, Lily Sheen, Paco León, Katrin Vankova, David Gordon Green
Running Time: 107 min.
Rating: R 

★★★ (out of ★★★★)

Tom Gormican's The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a tale of two movies, both starring Nicolas Cage as himself, or at least some version of it. One film is the meta fantasy we anticipated from its insane trailer, while the other spoofs the actor's big budget action spectacles like Face/Off and The Rock. Actually, nearly everything Cage has ever done is referenced, and even though the portions exploring the psyche of one of our most fascinatingly weird and gifted performers surpasses a somewhat formulaic plot, both merge at a beautiful place in the end. Gormican even squeezes a bromance in there that feels completely on brand for star who always functioned as the ideal vessel for obsessive fandom. None of this cuts too deep, but remains completely self-aware in the way you'd want a Nic Cage film about himself to be, comically digging into the neurosis, insecurity and narcissism that accompanies a majorly recognizable star wrestling with a mid-life crisis. 

Those elements dovetail nicely into real-life criticisms of Cage working non-stop on mindless action vehicles for big paydays. But it's to his and Gormican's credit that the script doesn't shy away from that, even going so far as to revolve the entire story around it. As expected, we get what's probably a highly fictionalized version of the actor, which is almost beside the point when what matters is that the Cage on screen matches how audiences and fans perceive him in reality. It's a huge distinction the movie's smart enough to recognize, at times even shielding it from criticism as it ironically emerges to be one of the safer, more accessible mainstream pictures Cage has recently made. And yet it still remains delightfully odd since so much of his popularity stems from being able to infuse that unmistakable eccentricity into all of his work, regardless of genre. It'll draw the most comparisons to Adaptation in how it occupies a vaguely similar kind of meta-verse, but this time he's the subject, with Easter eggs, career call backs and inside jokes to spare. It's a real treat for both diehard and casual Cage fans, neither of whom will walk away disappointed.

Things aren't going well for legendary Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage. Having just been passed over for a career rejuvenating role in the latest David Gordon Green project, his relationship with ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) is strained and he's just made an embarrassing spectacle of himself at daughter Addy's (Lily Sheen) sweet sixteen party. Mentally tormented by a younger, more successful version of himself, his agent Richard Fink (Neil Patrick Harris) suggests he take million dollar payday to be the guest of honor at billionaire playboy and Cage superfan Javi Gutierrez's (Pedro Pascal) birthday party in Majorca. 

Despite Cage seriously contemplating retirement and wanting to be anywhere else, he takes the gig, eventually warming up to Javi as they bond over their shared love of films and even plan to develop a movie together based on Javi's screenplay. But when Cage is cornered by CIA agents Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin (Ike Barinholtz) with information that his new friend is a wanted arms dealer behind the kidnapping of a politician's daughter (Katrin Vankova), the actor's reluctantly roped into going undercover. Now suddenly the star of his own real-life action adventure, Cage needs to tap into what he's learned in his most famous roles to escape this mess and protect his own family.

An opening kidnap scene with Con-Air as its backdrop confirms that whatever we hoped to get from this wacky premise will be delivered, while mirroring back at us our own relationship with Cage's most memorable roles. Everything from Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Croods II, Leaving Las Vegas to Guarding Tess are acknowledged in surprisingly funny ways that feel clever rather than forced, saying as much about fans' opinions of these titles and the actor as it does Cage himself. But hardly just a retrospective homage, the script's at its best when attempting to get inside the star's head as he wrestles with personal and professional failings. The former is a bigger problem since any attempts to connect with daughter Lily involve him shaming her into sharing his strange obsessions, like a love for the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. His one-sided bonding attempts are met with exasperated eye rolls from her and mom Olivia, as both doing little to hide their contempt for years of neglect.

It's admittedly difficult to picture Cage having an ex-wife and daughter who are this normal and well- adjusted having been under the celebrity microscope for so long. But that's partly why it works since it would be too uncomfortably realistic and detrimental to the story if they acknowledged his multiple ex-wives who were often decades younger. Besides feeling like a cheap shot and clashing with the film's tone, him instead having a likable and relatable ex-wife and daughter disappointed in his behavior was definitely the way to go. It helps set up a payoff later when Cage has to step up to protect his family, showing signs of the father and husband they always hoped he'd be. 

In both purpose and execution, this has to be one of the better uses of de-aging technology in the past few years, as Cage argues incessantly with the imagined "Nicky," (credited as Nicolas Kim Coppola) a young, brash, fame-hungry version of himself circa his Wild at Heart and Honeymoon in Vegas era. He's crazy Cage on overdrive, chastising the actor about how much more famous and successful he used to be while preying on the his biggest insecurities. But luckily, new buddy Javi's admiration  knows no bounds, as proven by his shrine room dedicated to Cage's career, complete with a life-size Castor Troy wax figure.

Continuing a streak that began with The Mandalorian and continued into WW84, Pedro Pascal again proves his versatility as either hero or villain, almost stealing this out from under the actor it's supposed to be about. As an overexcited child who's finally gotten to meet his hero, he's the movie's beating heart, playing Javi as a creepily endearing ode to fandom itself, letting viewers vicariously celebrate the oddness of this one-of-a-kind pop culture icon through him. While a couple of their misadventures, drug-induced excursions and improvisational exercises together run longer than necessary (adding about 10-15 minutes of bloat to the film), that's forgiven since Cage and Pascal have such a great chemistry, geeking out at every turn over movies and, of course, their favorite movie star. 

Cage's performance is pitch perfect, bringing great comic timing and self-loathing to a character that's him, though not quite. There's also an effective payoff to Nick's ineptitude as an undercover CIA mole being forced to turn on his best friend and maybe the only person who truly understands the enigma that's his life. The movie knows what we want, delivering a few swerves before arriving at a third act with murder, disguises, explosions, betrayals, insanity and a really great surprise cameo. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent still may not be as crazy as even the gentlest of Cage's films, but it couldn't exist without them, no matter which incarnation of the actor you prefer.