The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

By Mary Cooke

• Starring: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, and Sharon Horgan 
• Directed by: Tom Gormican
• Production Rating: 7/10
• Narrative Rating: 6/10
• 🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥.5 Cameras 

No Copyright Infringement Intended 

Meme’d and delicious, Nic Cage’s satirical meta-comedic-bond-movie-turned-bromance blockbuster takes you through a loosely tied-together piece of plot, with the characters leading the way through, but hey, it’s a fun adventure anyway. TikTok made that one scene famous (if you know, you know), which I actually saw before the movie came out, so I had to go watch the whole thing, and Nicolas Cage seems to happily lean into, or perhaps just gave up trying to fight, the internet’s obsession with making memes out of everything he does.

At heart, though, it’s really an ode to Nic Cage’s career of playing Nic Cage whilst playing Nick Cage. This tongue-in-cheek walkthrough of some of Nic Cage’s most iconic, well-loved roles felt at times like a narcissistic passion project from the desperate claws of washed-up celebrity, and I think that was the point. He levels every joke at himself, aiming, pointing and certainly taking no prisoners, this self-aware romp is a giggle for absolutely anyone. The only thing was that for a very casual Nic Cage fan, who hasn’t seen the vast majority of his films, quite a lot of the jokes fell on deaf ears. With a bit more context, I think I would’ve had a barrel of laughs, but as it was, I had a small tankard of laughs instead. Having a wider knowledge of Nic Cage movies would’ve certainly helped.

The plot and overall silliness of the whole movie did however rub off on me. The hilariously dim-witted portrayal of Nick Cage, whose blossoming bromance with Javi (Pedro Pascal), a Nick Cage superfan, made for some of the best, and most memorable scenes in the movie. Pascal’s adorable performance sets him firmly as a fan favourite, and the chemistry between himself and Cage lifts the movie away from the Nicolas Cage fan base and more towards the movie as a stand-alone project. This look at what it means to be Nic Cage, whilst playing on the perception of Nic Cage from the public, makes the comedy so much better. The unwitting actor gets rather unceremoniously forced into “the greatest role of his life” as a spy for the US government, recruited by a federal agent played by the wonderful Tiffany Haddish. Straight talking, and sensible, she intrepidly supports the bumbling ego of Nick Cage through the smooth action sequences that make this film so lovably Nic Cage-esq. Her stark contrast to the fumbling thespian gives the audience that perfect comedic duality and was home to a lot of laughs throughout the hour-and-a-half running time.

Her character however is, along with most of the supporting characters, relegated to reacting to the evolving plot centred around Nic Cage. This was amplified by Nick Cage’s shambolic personal life embodied with Sharon Horgan’s impeccably played, exhausted ex-wife character, and Cage’s complete inability to relate to his teenage daughter (Lily Sheen), who I felt both had interesting enough characters that I’d like to have seen more fleshed out. Despite this though, it still makes for a feel-good Cage-filled romp. Hailing back to Face/Off, Con Air, The Rock, Moonstruck, and many more Nic Cage favourites, this film is just good old-fashioned fun.

As a non-Nic-Cage fanatic, I would still recommend this movie even just as a casual fan because even without the callbacks to Cage’s iconic roles, the memeification of his persona, and the digs aimed at such, this is still a very sweet, feel-good film, with fun characters and a lot of heart. Is it the greatest piece of cinematic art ever produced? No absolutely not. It’s nothing new, nor innovative, and at times had a bit of a wobble in either plot, dialogue, or characterisation, but it really doesn’t need to be those things because it’s just a bit of fun, and that’s why it’s worth the watch.