As much as he might seem to have it all figured out, Nicolas Cage has the same problems as all of us normal folks who aren’t gods of the acting arts. Namely, money, and needing it – if you wonder why he seems to do twelve movies every year, most of which are fly-by-night straight-to-video cheapies, it has a lot to do with recouping some bad investments.
That’s the quandary opening the trailer for the new action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which sees Cage portraying himself, discussing his financial troubles with his good pal Neil Patrick Harris (a guy who knows a thing or two about lampooning his own persona onscreen). The man born Nicolas Kim Coppola needs an infusion of cash and quick, compelling him to take a private gig landing him in the crosshairs of enemy attackers.
For a cool million, Cage accepts an invitation to appear at the birthday party of an eccentric zillionaire (Pedro Pascal) obsessed with the actor and his canon of classic roles, a job that initially seems like a pleasant weekend of passed appetizers and drug-fueled hijinks with his oddball host. But when a heavily-armed assault storms this getaway, Cage has to step up and tap into his expertise honed over an illustrious career to seize the upper hand.
It appears that this film will have some fun with the meta-significance of its leading actor, a personality that draws a different – yet equally passionate – opinion from everybody. As shown in the exchange between Ike Barinholtz and Tiffany Haddish, some know him as the ’90s thriller icon of Face/Off and Con Air, while others identify him with less accomplished recent work like [checks notes] The Croods 2.
In any case, it’ll be productive to see the Cage in a role that proves he has a sense of humor about himself, forever dispelling the misconception that he lacks self-awareness of his personality or performance style. It’s all deliberate, as we’ll soon see. At any given moment, he knows exactly what he’s doing – and now, he’s literally in on the joke.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent comes to cinemas in the US on 22 April. A date for the UK has yet to be set.
Published 14 Dec 2021
The actor is at his intense and emotional best in Martin Scorsese’s underrated late ’90s thriller.
The Canadian filmmaker on the making of his heavy metal psycho-horror, Mandy, and working his one of his acting heroes.
In Michael Sarnoski’s low-key debut, the Cage takes revenge on the exploitative food industry.
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