Title: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Year: 2022
Duration: 107 min.
Country: United States
Direction: Tom Gormican
Screenplay: Tom Gormican, Kevin Etten
With: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Horgan, Paco León, Neil Patrick Harris, Lily Sheen, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Demi Moore
Grade: 7.5/10
Source: Lionsgate
Nicolas Cage is, in my opinion, an excellent actor. Of course, not all the films he has made are good. What am I saying, he usually does one good and two bad, or, sometimes, one and one. But he's one of my favorite actors, and of course I've seen National Treasure (2004) or The Rock (1996), and even when it's a drama like Leaving Las Vegas (1997), I usually watch him just because he's there. . Of course, I still do not dare to see the remake of The Wicker Man (2006). Not even Ghost Rider (2007), but who knows, maybe one day. And yet I have seen and enjoyed The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022).
I also think that Nicolas Cage, the human being, doesn't have all the candy in the jar. I say it with good vibes; Nicolas Cage is what one used to call a "crazy cute" or, in any case, harmless. Which brings me right to this movie, and I want to believe that I'm preaching to the choir, and that everyone has already seen it. Still, I'll try to be careful with spoilers, which there are.
It's clear, isn't it? There are spoilers. You are warned.
In The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022), Nicolas Cage plays himself, or rather, a version of himself that is a little more off-the-wall than the one we all know, which is saying a lot. And when he loses a job opportunity. What am I saying, a dream role for being too much "Nicolas Cage", the guy decides to hang up his gloves and retire from acting.
Lo and behold, his agent (Neil Patrick Harris) offers him to come host a private party and earn a few bucks, and Cage accepts. The client is a certain Javi (Pedro Pascal), a somewhat crazy billionaire who claims to be the number 1 fan of Nicolas Cage. Nic goes to Mallorca and Javi welcomes him. Although at first they don't hit much wave, they end up getting along. Javi really is the number 1 fan, and not only does he know the lines of the movies by heart but he even has a private museum full of memorabilia, including a life-size doll of Castor Troy, Cage's character in Face/Off ( 1998).
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a simple film, what in other times would have been a TV movie. Its effectiveness rests on the performances of Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal, and, of course, on how bearable or unbearable you find Cage. Did I liked? Yes, it entertained me, surprised me a couple of times and made me laugh at times. What more can you ask for in a movie?
Other characters include Lucas (Paco León), the highly suspicious cousin who we could swear is a drug trafficker, arms dealer or candy smuggler, and Gabriela (Alessandra Mastronardi), Javi's fiancée, who goes through life with the face of not having never broken a plate. We also have Olivia (Sharon Horgan), our hero's long-suffering (ex-)wife, and Addy (Lily Sheen), the teenage daughter.
An FBI agent (Tiffany Haddish) approaches Cage and tells him that his new friend Javi is actually a dangerous drug dealer. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Javi has Cage's family brought to the island, who at this point doesn't know what to think. For now, now his wife and daughter are in the middle of a potential carnage and Cage will have to get the potatoes out of the fire. And here I stop the review, so as not to ruin the movie for those who want to see it. Yes, there are some action scenes which, yes, are nothing to write home about and one or two twists and turns. There are characters who die and the happy ending is not guaranteed.