“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
Amusing adaptation of Being Nicolas Cage
Amusing adaptation of Being Nicolas Cage
“Nicolas Cage is a fucking legend, man!”. So says a heavily stoned Spanish student in the very opening seconds of this, the second directorial outing from Tom Gormican (That Awkward Moment), and a film I feared I’d hate but loved as, frankly, Nicolas Cage is indeed a Hollywood legend. It pleases me greatly therefore that out of the dozens of films he’s starred in and which are liberally namechecked throughout this intriguing comedy mash up of a “real life” actor juxtaposed with that of a struggling and anxiety ridden film star, two of his greatest performances in arguably the two best film choices of his career, aren’t named. Nicolas Cage to me is the firebrand renegade who from 1995 to 2000 starred in eight films, six of which are very, very good (with The Rock, Con Air and Face/Off three zeitgeist moment films if ever there was one, or indeed three) and all are sandwiched by 1995’s incredible outpouring of a broken heart and bodily spirit in Leaving Las Vegas and 1999’s bleak and coldly beautiful Bringing Out The Dead. That’s Nicolas Cage to me.
Leaving Las Vegas is Nicolas Cage. Not the re-makes of The Wicker Man or Bad Lieutenant, or Ghost Rider or the albeit very good World Trade Center. As well as the pleasing non-referencing of Leaving Las Vegas, his other stellar performance that wasn’t namechecked was his dual character role in the Charlie Kaufman directed masterpiece Adaptation in 2002. There are huge parallels between the two films two decades apart, as well as an eerie connection to the Spike Jonze directed and Charlie Kaufman written Being John Malkovich from 1999, but this film is bathed in the actual back catalogue of films from Nicolas Cage, epochal script lines as well as thorough dissections as to what makes a film, what makes it successful, the pitfalls, the tropes, the mis-directions and whilst this could sound like sloppy, throwaway and far too fond of itself fare, it actually isn’t.
Nicolas Cage the “fucking legend” plays “Nick Cage” a Hollywood acting legend, but a legend down on his luck and a legend within his own life, and a life full of anxiety, speed talking and desperation as well as being a distant aloof Father and a recently painfully divorced Husband. In a throwback to Adaptation of two decades ago, Cage also has a younger, more vibrant brother/alter ego character named “Nicky” and two of their three joint scenes work brilliantly. The last one? Much less so. But this is only one of two overall grumbles (the other being the last fifteen minutes going expectedly and sadly FUBAR), but in spite of the intentional overegging of the self referentiality of the film’s Marquee star, I found the unique tale woven in amongst this to be well written, funny and at times (shock! horror!) actually laugh out loud funny.
So we have Nicolas Cage playing Nicolas Cage? Twice! In a film incredibly over the top and fawning of the Hollywood film career of Nicolas Cage?. The narrative that winds around this ridiculous central theme sees a desperate Nick Cage accepting $1,000,000 from a somewhat shadowy and secretive Billionaire to be guest of honour at his Birthday party in Spain. Following a kidnapping, Nick Cage manages to become embroiled with CIA agents who are on the trail of the organised crime outfit suspected of the abduction and whilst Nick begins to warm to his hosts and their lavish praise as well as huge luxurious expenditure on him, he’s suddenly planning and producing a film with his new moneyed friend that’s going to be a “Game changer”, as well as being the central pawn to the bigger real life game playing out around him. Throw in some weed, a LSD car trip that ends in a hilarious bout of anxious paranoia and as many Nicolas Cage films that you can throw a stick it and, well, you have The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
Filling in the albeit huge gaps in the narrative brilliantly are four strong and dominant female characters headed by Sharon Horgan as Cage’s frustrated ex-wife “Olivia”, Lily Sheen as his bemused and angry teenage daughter “Addy”, Alessandra Mastronardi as a sultry Mediterranean power behind the criminal throne “Gabriela” and Tiffany Haddish steals the show as quick mouthed CIA Agent “Vivian”. There is one further female role of note but I can’t spoil it as despite both the role and actress being a very prominent one, I simply missed it until reading the cast list after the film!
Giving Nick/Nicky/Nicolas Cage a run for his money with an absolute belter of a performance is Pedro Pascal as the somewhat mysterious Billionaire and Nicolas Cage super fan “Javi” or as he’s taunted by his cousin, “Hollywood Javi”. Super rich and surrounded in dripping opulence, Javi has a script idea for a film as well as the monetary backing and in league with (without knowing it) the CIA, Javi is in fact perfectly feeding both the Hollywood fallen star’s addiction as well as his ego. A buddy comedy ensues and Pedro Pascal more than plays his comedic part in a wonderful portrayal of fawning sycophancy and their joint scenes (of which there are many) are often incredibly amusing.
To my cynical eyes and ears this could and should have been a colossal love fest that goes off the rails and fails spectacularly, but it doesn’t. Kudos to writer/director Tom Gormican in only his second turn in the director’s chair and with cameos aplenty, kudos also to Neil Patrick Harris as a disinterested Hollywood Agent and another, albeit brief, perfect foil for the star of his own show.
Highly recommended
PS: If you’re new to the world of Nicolas Cage films, and this is all very subjective I know, but whilst I don’t love The Coen Brother’s 1987 Raising Arizona, try Moonstruck from the same year or definitely Wild at Heart 3 years later and then strap in from 1995 onward and start with Leaving Las Vegas.
It will smash your heart into a thousand pieces.
You can thank me and pay me back in some magic beans another time.
Thanks for reading. There are a wealth of film reviews and behemoth treatises on the careers of The Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan and Paul Thomas Anderson to name just a few of the many more contained within my film archives.
Or here’s my three most recently published spoiler free film reviews:
“The Black Phone” (2022)
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“The Phantom of the Open” (2022)
Arnold Palmtree and the “World’s Worst Golfer”.medium.com
“All The Old Knives” (2022)
Stylish espionage drama with a surprising twist.medium.com