Just when you thought Nicolas Cage was a has been, the legend returns to remind us he never left. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a brilliantly hilarious and surprisingly heartwarming celebration and deconstruction of Cage’s Hollywood career, his ups, his downs, and his triumphant comeback. Cage hits a grand slam here, playing an exaggerated version of himself with gleeful confidence and all the many personality quirks he so effortlessly embraces. The film is incredibly self aware of Cage’s real life personal problems (alcohol, family issues, not getting acting gigs) and cleverly uses this to fuel his redemption arc. Pedro Pascal is equally as genius as Cage is here, as he hilariously portrays an obsessed Nick Cage superfanboy. The bro-like chemistry between Pascal and Cage is so funny and endearing, that there are sequences which made the audience laugh so hard to the point where we almost couldn’t hear the dialogue, it’s that rich. It was awesome to see my boy Jacob Scipio (who I worked with on Expendables 4) get into the action and have some major key moments when it comes to the story. The film knows when to get personal and serious, and I give props to director Tom Gormican for balancing the super meta stuff with Cage’s inner struggles. The outcome of the story itself isn’t all that unpredictable and maybe it could’ve been 10 minutes shorter, but those are just minor nitpicks. This is one of my favorite studio comedies in years and a movie I think Cage super-fanatics and casuals alike will find a stupendously enjoyable time at the cinemas. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a joyously hysterical celebration of decades of the national treasure that is Nicolas Cage, and a heartfelt comeback story that reminds us, the man never left.
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