The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

Director and co-writer Tom Gormican’s action-packed bit of fluff should draw lots of Nicolas Cage fans—and perhaps some, like myself, who wonder if its anything like another film in which an actor plays a version of himself, Inside John Malkovich. It is not, Director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman’s 1999 comedy being far more cerebral and funny—they are of two different genres. Still, even for a one-time Cage fan like myself, grown weary of his starring in so many crummy films after Moonstruck–yes, there have been a few good ones since (loved him in Red Rock and World Trade Center), there is much to enjoy in this thriller.

The plot includes kidnappings and an actor down on his luck named Nick Cage who is so desperate for money—he owes his hotel $650K– that he accepts an invitation to come to a birthday party in Mallorca for a million dollars. Who wouldn’t?

His host is Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal), a wealthy super fan who has a script he hopes to interest Cage in. Lurking in the background are two CIA agents who believe that Gutierrez is part of the Spanish Mafia, and so they want to enlist Nick’s help in nailing the guy. Nick is also frequently visited by Nicky, the alter self living in his head, who reminds him that he is a movie star, not an actor. The scenes of these two are almost as funny as those between Nick and Gutierrez, the latter two hitting it off so well that the movie becomes a buddy film.

There are lots of car chases and bullets flying. Also many references to and quotations from the gadzillion films in which Cage has starred in. I almost wish I had seen them, as I am sure I missed many references. Any way, I am glad to have seen this one. It’s sort of a cinematic banana split, great fun but of slight nutritional value. If you need a break from reality and its worries, this might be your movie. And if you are a died-in-the-wool Cage fan you don’t need any encouragement from me.

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