The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent review by Bobby Blakey
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Over the years Nicolas Cage has had his ups and downs, but there is no doubt he can offer up some memorable performances. I personally love him the most when he is allowed to just cut lose in films like Mom & Dad, Mandy Color out of Space and my most recent favorite Wally’s Wonderland. His last film Pig was outstanding and reminded the world of his true talent that leads perfectly into his new film aptly titled The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent where he plays a fictional version of himself. The film co-stars Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Lily Sheen, with Neil Patrick Harris, and Tiffany Haddish from director Tom Gormican. Could this be yet another win for Cage’s filmography or will it be too mu weight to bear?
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent follows Nicolas Cage as... Nick Cage who is creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nicolas Cage.
I have been excited for this film since they announced it and got increasingly more so as the supporting cast was announced. Heading in a I took a deep breath hoping the film would live up to not only the hype its been getting, but also my hopes. I am so happy to say it not only lives up to it but exceeds it. This movie is silly, fun, heartfelt and everything in between and Cage is superb. It actually seems harder to take on a version of yourself in not only
the performance but what you have to dig into mentally to bring it to life. Cage goes all in playing this fictional version of himself and outside of his film Pig is easily once of his best performances in years. This turn reminds audiences why he has been nominated for an Oscar twice and has won one.
The supporting cast are all great with the true joy being Pascal and Cage together. Pascal is great in the role and brings a fun and sometimes weird performance that just works. When they are on screen together it is pure magic and they look to be having a great time. Some of the others have smaller roles, but all are important to the direction of the film and give some great performances to keep the story moving and unleashing the various levels of Cage.
The story is simple and fun with tons of great nods to Cage’s career while also being kind of creepy. Pascal’s Javi is the kind of fan that exits out there and walks the line of love and respect and full on dangerous. His love for Cage also feeds the actor ego that some performers have and here fits into the narrative of the story perfectly. There is a great gag featuring a non-Cage film that I love that not only I agree with but is just too funny. The crazy events also give them a chance to get in on some action and shenanigans that just makes it all the more entertaining.
I loved this movie and it will no doubt end up on my top ten of the year, but even more so it feels like these last couple of films have put Cage back in the spotlight. He never left and has been working nonstop, but I feel a shift change happening and hope it keeps its momentum as I would love to see more Nicolas Cage in bigger films again where he belongs.
In addition to the film this release offers up bonus content including deleted scenes, commentary, featurettes and so much more. Grab your copy of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent available now on digital, Blu-ray and DVD from Lionsgate.