Film Review: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Nicolas Cage as Nick Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Photo / Supplied

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (R13 (USA), 107 mins)
Directed by Tom Gormican

"Imagine me and you…I can't see me lovin' nobody but you for all my life," sang the Turtles in 1967. With those idealistic words, the film opens and the main plot of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is established.

A man is torn between following his dream and being a family man. Complicating things for him is his belief that he will let the human race down if he turns his back on his talent.

The man is fictional Nicolas Cage, played by the real Nic Cage. To date, he's been lovin' only himself for all his life: himself as an actor and his younger self, Nicky, (Nicolas Kim Coppola in the credits) who, thanks to CGI, looks a lot like Elvis, one of Nic Cage's real-life heroes. And yes, the real Nic Cage was briefly married to Elvis' daughter. Go figure.

Nicolas' ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and daughter Addy (Lily Mo Sheen, daughter of Kate Beckinsale and Michael Sheen) have all but given up on self-obsessed, movie-watching Nicolas who only wants to hear from his agent Richard Fink (Neil Patrick Harris).

While Nicolas waits, debts mount up. He shouts a lot and drinks too much. He wants more than anything to be able to yell, "We're back!" To that, he would add in a sexy undertone, "Not that we went anywhere".

Nicolas is likeable, in spite of his narcissism. There's something in the way he moves, and apparently in the way he kisses. He's a competent goof, a superhero with a hazard warning attached.

Hard to tell what Francis Ford Coppola would think of his nephew after seeing this movie, if he does. Suffice it to say that the two of them disagree on superhero movies. You guessed it: Nic loves them, Francis does not.

Early on there's a brutal attack by masked men on a so-far unidentified young Spanish couple in a Los Angeles apartment, suggesting plot to come, but at first, the film is all about character, all about Nicolas.

There's plot upon plot, once Nicolas accepts a role to perform at a mafioso birthday party in Mallorca: kidnap, heist, an LSD trip, a duel, a motorcycle chase, a death threat, a rich guy who wants his film script to be the next big thing in Hollywood, Nicolas accepting another role, this time as a spy for the CIA, and most remarkably among all the cliches, a beautiful bromance with the birthday boy, Havi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal).

There's outrageous hilarity in almost every scene. The script is witty, always well-paced, a collaboration between director Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten, a Harvard graduate and member of the Harvard Lampoon Club. Mark Isham's music runs close to the plot. Examples of the tracks are Heist, Running on acid and Nick-napped.

A first-rate caper, with acting royalty having a load of fun. You will too. Highly recommended.

• Movies are rated: Avoid, Recommended, Highly recommended and Must see.

GIVEAWAY

The first person to bring an image or hardcopy of this review to Starlight Cinema Taupō qualifies for a free ticket to The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.