Nationwide: Friday, April 22, 2022
Lionsgate
Nicolas Cage stars as...Nicolas Cage in the action-comedy THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a super fan. When things take a wildly dangerous turn, Cage is 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 Academy Award winning iconic actor must take on the role of a lifetime; Himself.
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Gregory M. - Rated it 3 out of 5
"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Nick Cage (Nicolas Cage) must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal), a dangerous superfan. Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative Vivan (Tiffany Haddish) 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 actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage. In the films screenplay, Nick becomes frustrated, and a little unhinged, when he loses out on a role that he was desperate to inhabit. Moreover, he’s financially strapped. Despite his better instincts, Nick reluctantly agrees to appear at the birthday party of a millionaire/Cage superfan, Javi, in picturesque Mallorca, Spain, for a cool payday of one million dollars. Upon arriving in Mallorca and being greeted personally by Javi, Nick is completely checked out until he discovers that he and his host have much in common and begin to bond. Javi even has an elaborate wax statue of Nick, which blows Nick’s mind. What brings Nick and Javi together is their love of storytelling. It’s the connecting fabric for them. Ultimately, this is a story about friendship and adventure, around a character. That’s not all they've in common. The wealthy man is just as neurotic as his guest of honor, and they both find themselves looking for inspiration from the actor’s famously bold, audacious characters. Nick’s screen persona is everything that Javi doesn’t dare to be. Javi is fearful of many things, so he lives his life vicariously through Nick’s bold performances. Nick’s visit inspires Javi to take risks in his own life. As it turns out, Javi is already taking great risks, the character also turns out to be an international arms dealer and crime boss, a man that the CIA has been monitoring and trying to take out years. As Nick gets close to Javi, the actor makes a key, if reluctant, player in a CIA operation orchestrated by agency operatives. To stay sane, and alive, Nick must inhabit some of his on-screen action-hero personas, especially when his wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and daughter Addy (Lily MO Sheen) become enmeshed in the escalating weirdness, adventure, and danger. In the movie, 'Nick Cage' is a fictionalized version of the star, imagined as a once-highly respected actor who has fallen on hard times and is craving a return to box-office glory and prestige. But his waning career is only one of his problems. The faux Cage’s megalomania has poisoned his relationships with his ex-wife Olivia and daughter Addy, though he can’t see it. And Nick is haunted by a shadow, 'Nicky,' also played by Cage, is a figment of the actor’s considerable imagination who bellows for a single-minded focus on movie stardom. Nicky has this lanky long hair, and he’s riding Nick about his career choices. Nicky steals the show. The fictional Cage is feeling unfulfilled and rejected, but nothing could be further from the real Cage, not least because the actor recently received some ogood reviews for his performance in "Pig". The real Nicolas Cage is nothing less than a screen legend. "The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent" builds upon that renowned work, while turning it upside-down, inside-out, and every which way. But why imagine an alternative existence for this Hollywood legend? The fictionalized version of Nick Cage is unbelievably talented and can do any genre. Nick has become something that transcends being an actor. He’s become a cultural figure. As culture gets stranger and stranger and fashion choices get more outlandish, you can trace like a direct line back to the patron saint of strangeness, Nicolas Cage. Just seeing his face makes people happy. That’s really interesting and makes him want to dig in further and find out who he actually is. It's a fantasy film culled from perceptions in the media and on the internet, as well as blips in my personal life that have gone public. It’s mixed with knowledge of interviews and things that have always interested us and draws us down this path. Essentially, the film is an imagination based on an interpretation of what Nicholas Cage life might be like. It's a a neurotic, high-anxiety version of Nick Cage. "The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent" is a sincere and hilarious love letter to Nicolas Cage, as you know and love him or not. The film shars a love of everything from "The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari" to "Paddington 2". It's a real head trip. (2,5) Written by Gregory Mann
