THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT
****
Director: Tom Gormican
Screenwriters: Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten
Principal cast:
Nicolas Cage
Pedro Pascal
Tiffany Haddish
Sharon Horgan
Paco León
Neil Patrick Harris
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 107 mins.
Australian release date: 21 April 2022.
If somebody hadn’t already come up with the word ‘meta’, it would have had to have been invented to describe this zany movie about a movie star making a movie about a movie star making a movie. Tom Gormican’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a wild ride that toys with fantasy and reality - its central character, Nicolas Cage, plays a fictionalised version of himself, a Hollywood star named Nick Cage. In many ways it’s a brave role to undertake and, apparently, the actor refused the offer a number of times until he received a personal letter from Gormican encouraging him to take on the role. Cage claims the character bears little resemblance to his real personality but he would say that, wouldn’t he? He says that “This is Tom’s invented version of Nick Cage – a neurotic, high-anxiety version of Nick Cage. This film is a real head trip for me.” But which Nick Cage is the real Nick Cage? The former is reputed to be a pretty wild and crazy guy and the latter iteration, the one we see in the film, is out there too. Plus, the Cage films referred to in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent are indeed Nicolas Cage films, for example Face/Off, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Leaving Las Vegas and Mandy. So where does the real Cage begin and the alter ego end? Or vice versa.
The Nick Cage we see in the movie is beginning to think his career is coming to a grinding halt because he has just missed out on an important role and hasn’t been offered any substantial parts for a while, so when his agent Richard Fink (Neil Patrick Harris) approaches him with a million-dollar gig to appear as the guest of honour at the party of a millionaire fanboy, Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal), he reluctantly accepts. He’s so disillusioned that he intends to clear his debts after the engagement and retire, although secretly he harbours dreams of hitting it big again so he can say, “I’m back - not that I went anywhere.” He has a fractured relationship with his ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and his daughter Addy (Lily Sheen) and, well, his life is generally a mess. When Cage arrives in Mallorca to attend the festivities, he is not impressed initially but bonds with his host over their shared love of films; two in particular, namely The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Paddington 2. While on the island Cage is contacted by husband-and-wife CIA agents Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin Etten (Ike Barinholtz), who reveal that Gutierrez is an arms dealer who’s probably responsible for the kidnapping of a politician’s daughter (Katrin Vankova) and they want Cage to help them bring him to justice. Gutierrez wants to make a film with his new best friend and has written a screenplay for him, so Cage agrees to workshop the script in order to hang around longer and hopefully uncover the girl’s whereabouts.
Cage delivers a rip-roaring performance, chockful of his signature mannerisms, clearly enjoying sending himself up. There’s even a younger version of himself, Nicky (credited as Nicolas Kim Coppola), who looks about the age Cage was when he made Wild at Heart and who displays all the arrogance and misplaced confidence of youth. Another meta comment on the real Nicolas Cage, when he was a brash young man? Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) is the perfect foil for all these hijinks and you’re never quite sure if Javi is just a harmless super fan or something far more sinister. The Croatian locations are stunningly photogenic and there are some terrific effects, too. A road-trip careering around a winding cliff face while Cage and Gutierrez are stoned on LSD is one of the most thrilling rides you’re going to see on screen. It’s very funny.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a total delight and a lot of laughs. You don’t have to be a Nicolas Cage fanboy or girl to get it (although it’ll be more fun if you are) because Cage is such a sublime actor. This must surely rank as one of his best performances. Or is it? Maybe he’s not acting at all?
Screenwriters: Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten
Principal cast:
Nicolas Cage
Pedro Pascal
Tiffany Haddish
Sharon Horgan
Paco León
Neil Patrick Harris
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 107 mins.
Australian release date: 21 April 2022.
If somebody hadn’t already come up with the word ‘meta’, it would have had to have been invented to describe this zany movie about a movie star making a movie about a movie star making a movie. Tom Gormican’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a wild ride that toys with fantasy and reality - its central character, Nicolas Cage, plays a fictionalised version of himself, a Hollywood star named Nick Cage. In many ways it’s a brave role to undertake and, apparently, the actor refused the offer a number of times until he received a personal letter from Gormican encouraging him to take on the role. Cage claims the character bears little resemblance to his real personality but he would say that, wouldn’t he? He says that “This is Tom’s invented version of Nick Cage – a neurotic, high-anxiety version of Nick Cage. This film is a real head trip for me.” But which Nick Cage is the real Nick Cage? The former is reputed to be a pretty wild and crazy guy and the latter iteration, the one we see in the film, is out there too. Plus, the Cage films referred to in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent are indeed Nicolas Cage films, for example Face/Off, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Leaving Las Vegas and Mandy. So where does the real Cage begin and the alter ego end? Or vice versa.
The Nick Cage we see in the movie is beginning to think his career is coming to a grinding halt because he has just missed out on an important role and hasn’t been offered any substantial parts for a while, so when his agent Richard Fink (Neil Patrick Harris) approaches him with a million-dollar gig to appear as the guest of honour at the party of a millionaire fanboy, Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal), he reluctantly accepts. He’s so disillusioned that he intends to clear his debts after the engagement and retire, although secretly he harbours dreams of hitting it big again so he can say, “I’m back - not that I went anywhere.” He has a fractured relationship with his ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and his daughter Addy (Lily Sheen) and, well, his life is generally a mess. When Cage arrives in Mallorca to attend the festivities, he is not impressed initially but bonds with his host over their shared love of films; two in particular, namely The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Paddington 2. While on the island Cage is contacted by husband-and-wife CIA agents Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin Etten (Ike Barinholtz), who reveal that Gutierrez is an arms dealer who’s probably responsible for the kidnapping of a politician’s daughter (Katrin Vankova) and they want Cage to help them bring him to justice. Gutierrez wants to make a film with his new best friend and has written a screenplay for him, so Cage agrees to workshop the script in order to hang around longer and hopefully uncover the girl’s whereabouts.
Cage delivers a rip-roaring performance, chockful of his signature mannerisms, clearly enjoying sending himself up. There’s even a younger version of himself, Nicky (credited as Nicolas Kim Coppola), who looks about the age Cage was when he made Wild at Heart and who displays all the arrogance and misplaced confidence of youth. Another meta comment on the real Nicolas Cage, when he was a brash young man? Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) is the perfect foil for all these hijinks and you’re never quite sure if Javi is just a harmless super fan or something far more sinister. The Croatian locations are stunningly photogenic and there are some terrific effects, too. A road-trip careering around a winding cliff face while Cage and Gutierrez are stoned on LSD is one of the most thrilling rides you’re going to see on screen. It’s very funny.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a total delight and a lot of laughs. You don’t have to be a Nicolas Cage fanboy or girl to get it (although it’ll be more fun if you are) because Cage is such a sublime actor. This must surely rank as one of his best performances. Or is it? Maybe he’s not acting at all?