REVIEW: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal lift ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ into a hilarious, meta, buddy-comedy

SALT LAKE CITY — There are few actors in Hollywood like Nicolas Cage.  He seems to be an easy target for parody, yet his string of successful movies is undeniable.  His latest venture, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent from Lionsgate, keeps both of those facts front-and-center throughout the film and mines it to hilarious success.

THE STORY

Cage plays a somewhat fictional version of himself in the movie. Yes, he is the actor who made memorable films like Face/Off, The Rock, Con Air, and National Treasure (all of which, and more, are referenced at some point during the movie). But at the same time, no, that’s not his real wife or daughter–they’re played the film by Sharon Horgan and Lily Mo Sheen.

Cage is trying to stay relevant and stay working in Hollywood, but he’s out of money. So when his agent (Neil Patrick Harris) tells him about a high-paying celebrity appearance at the birthday party of a billionaire super fan named Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal), he has no choice to but accept.

On his way to the party in Mallorca, Spain, CIA agents (played by Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz) rope Cage into helping the the Agency investigate Javi, whose billions apparently come from the drug trade.  Even worse for Cage, Javi has also written a screenplay he wants his hero to read, and maybe help make!

With all this going on, plus potentially having to help find and rescue a kidnapped teenage girl, Cage must use his unparalleled acting instincts and the skills he’s picked up from his action hits just to survive and, just maybe…save the day!

THINGS I LIKED

I laughed throughout this movie.  For fans of Nick Cage, especially of his work in the 1990’s, this is a must-see.  There are few actors who could balance both the self-centeredness and the self-deprecation that this role requires, not to mention have the filmography to make what the story calls for him to do in “real-life” even somewhat believable.

Pedro Pascal absolutely nails his role as the star-struck, super-rich superfan, who may also be a super bad guy.  The bro chemistry between Cage & Pascal is probably the highlight of the film and is the best buddy-action-comedy pairing I’ve seen in years.

The story, from Tom Gormican (who also directed the movie) and Kevin Etten, pushes things to some absurd levels. But even in those moments, it still somehow works.

WARNINGS

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is rated R for language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and violence. At one point Cage makes out with a manifestation of his own ego–listed in the credits as “Nicolas Kim Coppola,” his real birth name.

It has a relatively quick run-time of just 1 hr 47 minutes.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you’re over a certain age, looking for something funny or are just a fan of Nick Cage or Pedro Pascal, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is definitely worth your time.  I think it’s the funniest movie I’ve seen so far this year.

WHERE TO WATCH

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is playing only in theaters.  If you prefer to wait for streaming, there is currently no announced premiere date.