There’s a small, but noteworthy number of films in which actors appear as themselves – that is, as actors reflecting in some way on the fact that they’re actors. It’s a risky thing in some ways: ego has to be balanced against just enough self-deprecation to make it all hang together, else it could all become more of a puff piece than a genuinely entertaining narrative. But it can be done very well. Some of the best examples of this, to my mind, include Being John Malkovich (1999), with all of its strange, highly original fantasy elements; there’s also My Name is Bruce (2007), again with the kinds of fantasy and horror material you might associate with star Bruce Campbell, who is undoubtedly best known as a horror movie guy, here sending himself and his fans up with good-natured humour. Really, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) could quite easily rest somewhere between the two titles mentioned above, at least in terms of the career of its leading man. Whilst Nicolas Cage, its star, has appeared in many successful, mainstream Hollywood films like Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) – akin to John Malkovich – he has also happily put his name to numerous underground, deliberately culty projects like Mandy (2018), a film with quite a few things in common with Evil Dead, chainsaw included. You also get the distinct impression that Nicolas Cage is no stranger to self-deprecation; nor can he possibly be oblivious to his fandom, whether those people who watch him simply to see him have a Full Cage meltdown or those who see him in more serious terms.
Happily, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is incredibly good fun, encompasses the Full Cage and the more…well, normal man behind it all, and draws upon Cage fandom in an affectionate and engaging way. Its best quality, though, is in its writing: it’s warmly self-referential, and also manages to weave from one genre of film to entirely another, picking up on all of the little clues which it has lined up neatly along the way.
It starts with a young Spanish couple enjoying a Nicolas Cage movie (but of course) before a host of thugs wreck the vibe, breaking in and grabbing them. What does this have to do with the man himself? We soon find out. Our first glimpse of NC is speaking to…or at… his casting agent back in LA: clearly Cage is after a new role to get his teeth into, rocking out a few scenery-chewing lines to show he deserves one. He’s especially keen to work because the old trilogy of marital breakdown, estranged teenage daughter and vast hotel room bill have him at crisis point. Luckily, something has come up just in time: a trip to Mallorca, at the behest of rich guy Javi (Pedro Pascal) who has a screenplay to show him…
It’s a bad time to show up. It seems that Javi – who soon becomes a kindred spirit to Cage, as not just a rich guy but a superfan and a diehard film-as-art advocate – is being investigated by the CIA. They collar Cage and insist that he helps them in their rather urgent enquiries into Javi: there’s not much Cage can do but agree, so he starts bodging his way through the tasks they set him, seeing it all as just another new kind of role. Errors, twists and skits ensue: however, the main question is, is the CIA correct in their suspicions?
Whilst the film moves smoothly from a character-led drama to something far more action-led (commenting wittily on the shifts as they happen), all in all this is a caper: the jump from ‘unknown secret agents’ commanding Cage what to do, to people who seem almost like buddies who eyeroll at his mistakes is perhaps a bit of a leap, but it’s more than forgivable in the grand scheme of things. The comedy of errors material is great, but as well as that, there is great dialogue and rapport between the two leads; Pascal (Oberyn Martell from Game of Thrones!) is deeply funny, but also plausible, with Javi genuinely appearing to love Nick Cage and to want nothing more than his good opinion. Dare I say it, but it’s quite moving in places, again because it’s all so well-written and acted.
The balance of just enough emotional weight to laugh-out-loud idiocy is spot on. As for Nicolas Cage and the self-deprecation angle so necessary in films like this, well he’s clearly good with it, even though the actual distance between man and actor remains somewhat oblique, even taking into account that the Nick Cage in the film is still a role: you get the impression that some part of him has been doing the overblown stuff so long that it’s become a sort of tic, albeit one played out with aplomb in the appearances of ‘young Nicky’, visions of Cage’s younger, more egotistical self who rocks up to insist that “Nick FUCKINNNNNG Cage!” should call all the shots. And of course, it’s a glorious war cry which is as absolutely OTT as you’d hope and expect.
With lots of nods to his past roles, celebrating acting and film whilst teasing it at the same time, this is a great piece of entertainment, really, and to describe more of the plot twists and turns would be to ruin it. ‘Meta’ style scripts can be very tiresome, but that’s not the case here. To end this review, let’s just reflect on the fact that Cage gifted everyone in the cast a pillow with his face on it, and be done.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) is available on digital 8th July and Steelbook, 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD 11th July.