Director; Tom Gormican. Starring; Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish. Rated R. Color. 117 Minutes.
While Nicolas Cage has made some great movies, “Leaving Las Vegas”, “Raising Arizona”, “Adaptation” and Face/Off” to name a few. But for the most part the bulk of his work has consisted of many terrible films over three decades and his erratic behavior off the screen is no secret. That doesn’t matter as Nic Cage is a stone cold legend in my lifetime. “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” is a hilarious meta-inspired comedy that is arguably Cage’s best work to date.
The notion that Nic Cage crazy is an overblown stereotype that definitely helped enhances his legacy. He is actually a smart man and the decision to play himself is brilliant. The Nic Cage is looney tunes persona has been a fuel for him, none better than here. Directed by Tom Gormican, the movie showcases all of Cage’s acolyte’s and sociopathic behavior, and to do it on his own terms.
“Massive Talent” finds Cage as an extreme parody of himself that also has a real heart underneath. His career is not doing so well but he is seeking some serious role that he really believes can get and will put him back on the map. Days go by and he’s not getting confirmed for this great role. Cage’s agent Richard Fink (Neil Patrick Harris) has found a job that pays $1.5 million. All he has to do is go to some millionaires birthday party. This is of course beneath Nic, but when you’re not getting calls that’s a lot of money.
Cage hops on a plane and then by boat to a beautiful European ocean side home to this Javi (the mysterious man that hired him. On the boat ride Nic is talking about how shitty this is, not knowing the driver is Javi (Pedro Pascal). Javi is biggest superfan of Cage, more than anyone could be for a celebrity. At first, things seem a little drug kingpin criminally fortress -esque., then Javis shows him the greatest collection of memorabilia and it is so funny that now they are be friends. But the real reason Javi wanted him to come is that wants to write a screenplay with his idol.
Once Cage agrees to write they go around traveling the country side, living their best lives as they form a deep yet crazy friendship. This seems like one of the best things Nic has ever done and has given the star purpose again. That is until Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) shows up to crash the party.
Unbeknownst to Nic, the CIA have been tracking Javi for sometime now. Vivian has stuck trying to take down the criminal organization. She secretly pulls Cage aside, tells him who Javi really is, and also has kidnapped the daughter of a prominent Spanish politicians daughter. They want to use Cage to get information and find the girls as he is hanging out with his new buddy all the time. Nic doesn’t want to believe it. I mean, Javi is so cool and the guy loves himself some NICOLAS F-IIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG CAGE!”
Then he starts looking around the facility and maybe this could be possibly? Could he sell-out Javi. Although, Nic is kind of having fun with this detective work too. For the rest of the trip the two must decide if they truly are friends or are destined to be enemies.
Without question, “Massive Talent” is ridiculous, and I mean that in every positive way imaginable. It is one of the comedies where also every little one off moments or jokes will have you cracking up in different ways, so I won’t ruin those. I will say the trophy room scene, the LSD section, and the final showdown. are comedy of the highest order.
This is an actors movie. Nic Cage is definitely back with his best movie in aver a decade. Plus his chemistry with Pascal is instant gold. But don’t forget the direction done by Tom Gormican. He had to wrangle a lot of personalities and crazy situations to make a great comedy. It does not matter if you like Nicolas Cage, it doesn’t. Just go and enjoy some hilariously brilliant laughs.
Suck Factor: 0 out of 7 (7 Means Your Movie Really SUCKS!
The SUCK FACTOR! How it works. We’ve flipped the script on the standard ratings system. If make a masterpiece such “The Godfather”, you receive 0 SUCKS! If making a total piece of garbage, like a Michael Bay movie, you get a awful 7 SUCKS!
Greg Squared Films 