GILDED CAGE
Hollywood legend is on top form as an exaggerated version of himself
THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT (15) HHHII REVIEWS BY DAMON SMITH
A WISE man once said: “Some things are true whether you believe in them or not.”
That modern philosopher was Nicolas Cage, sermonising on the fragility of life to Meg Ryan’s cynical surgeon in the 1998 metaphysical romance City Of Angels.
Choice excerpts and memorabilia from the entire Cage oeuvre (even the Golden Globe-nominated Guarding Tess) festoon Tom Gormican’s delightful black comedy, which invites the Californian star to play a fictionalised version of himself at manic full volume.
From its opening frames – a kidnapping orchestrated during a screening of Con Air – The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent is a love letter to the leading man and his indelible mark on popular culture in the 40 years since his big screen debut in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
Cage has a blast poking fun at himself in a freewheeling script co-written by Gormican and Kevin Etten, which introduces a potty-mouthed voice of conscience called Nicky: a freshfaced Wild At Heart-era incarnation of Cage that only the actor can see... and smooch during one memorably deranged pep talk.
The film’s exaggerated version of Nick Cage is a Hollywood star with the same resumé, who is separated from his ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan), a make-up artist on Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
Unable to connect with his 16-year-old daughter Addy (Lily Sheen, daughter of actors Michael
Sheen and Kate Beckinsale), Nick has been staying at the Sunset Tower hotel for over a year, racking up a bill of $600,000 on top of existing debts.
When his agent Fink (Neil Patrick Harris) relays an offer of $1m to attend the birthday party of billionaire super fan Javi Gutierrez (Game of Thrones’ Pedro Pascal), Nick reluctantly agrees.
CIA agents Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin (Ike Barinholtz) suspect Javi is an international weapons dealer with ties to the recent abduction of a Catalonian presidential candidate’s daughter (Katrin Vankova).
When Vivian and Martin learn Nick is guest of honour at Javi’s bash in Mallorca, they pressgang
the actor into the service of his country to spy on his host.
The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent is a trip – literally when Nick and Javi take a chaotic LSD-fuelled road trip to spark their creativity.
Pascal catalyses an affectionate screen bromance with Cage, the two actors bouncing off each other smartly as the script contemplates the regrets of an artist, who worked to live, at the expense of personal relationships.
In Gone In 60 Seconds, Cage’s car thief bellows: “I’m a little tired, I’m little wired and I think I deserve a little appreciation!”
Gormican’s picture answers his cry, with scenery-chewing gusto.
In cinemas Friday