The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Nicolas Cage reportedly turned down the opportunity to star in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (a film in which he plays a caricature of himself) multiple times before finally agreeing.  I can see why he was nervous.  The film is a self-depreciating tribute to his film career, and could have easily gone into the realm of parody.  However, director and co-writer Tom Gormican (who convinced Cage to participate with a personal letter) has also made a fun and free-spirited action comedy that gives Cage his most memorable work in a long time.

This is a movie that remembers a time when Cage was more than a meme, or when he was high on the Hollywood A-List.  It also is well aware of his current career, but it never resorts to mockery.  Cage is depicted here as someone who is falling apart.  The "role of a lifetime" has passed him by, his ex-wife (Sharon Horgan) wrings her hands a lot and hopes he'll get back on his feet, and his teenage daughter (Lily Sheen) barely seems to tolerate him, or his long rants on his favorite movies, such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.  His agent (Neil Patrick Harris) has found him a million-dollar gig, showing up at the birthday party of a massive fan.  Cage takes the job, but can't help but feel he can't sink any lower, and decides he is going to retire after.

The fan ends up being Javi Guiterrez (Pedro Pascal), and while this is obviously Cage's movie, it is Pascal and his chemistry with Cage that gives the movie its heart.  Javi comes across as a millionaire playboy with hopes of selling his own screenplay, but as the two men spend time together, a connection begins to form.  They bond over Dr. Caligari and Paddington 2, and Javi seems to make Nicolas feel alive for the first time in a while.  The plot kicks in when Cage is approached by a pair of CIA Agents (Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz), who tell him that Javi is a notorious arms dealer, and is holding a politician's daughter captive somewhere in his massive estate.  They enlist Cage's help to spy on the man, gain his trust, and ultimately rescue the captive girl.

The big reason why the movie works, as mentioned, is the pairing of Cage and Pascal.  There is a boyish innocence to their friendship, and the screenplay not only does a great job developing it, but also finding the right path of where it needs to end.  And while the movie loses a bit of steam during its action-heavy climax, it is their performances that keep it afloat.  The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent could have easily been a one-joke film, or veered toward the absurd, but there is a kindness to it.  While the plot must ultimately find these two men on opposite sides, there is still this mutual respect that carries through, and it becomes so much more than the rift on Cage's career that I initially thought it would be.

This is not just a frequently funny film, but one with a big heart that carries through the entire piece.  I found myself caring about its central relationship, and I was involved.  Of course, the movie has some fun at Cage's expense, but that is fortunately not the focus.  This is first and foremost a film about a friendship and rediscovering yourself, and that is its strength.  It's also clever how the movie will frequently find Cage talking to a younger version of himself (also Cage, modeled after his character in Wild at Heart), about his career, or whatever is going on.  The film is warm and vibrant, not to mention frequently joyful.  Even when the characters start pointing guns at each other, there's still a certain sweetness to it that I found appealing.

This is a movie that crept up on me, and ended up working much better than I could have imagined  I can definitely see it earning a cult following, and if it introduces some of its audience to the star's wide and diverse career, all the better.  This is not just a satire, or a tribute.  It's one of the sweeter films I've seen in a while.

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