From "Face/Off" to "Wild at Heart" to "Vampire's Kiss," I've been there for every high and low (if you can even find one) point of Nicolas Cage's lengthy career. His filmography is a rollercoaster of unhinged performances, cult classics, and eccentric roles that make him one of Hollywood’s most unpredictable yet beloved actors. Yeah, I said it. And I mean it.
"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent," available to stream on Tubi, is an amalgamation of everything that makes Cage an icon. It's more than just a goofy action comedy. It's exemplary of Cage's ability to laugh at himself with the audience, and one of his best performances to date. Where else could you watch Cage play a fictional version of himself chatting with a "Wild at Heart"-era doppelganger while driving down the road? Exactly.
This is a movie like no other, and it tends to go underappreciated by the general public. That's criminal in itself. And if you haven't seen it just yet, you owe it to yourself (yes, even as a non-Cage megafan like yours truly) to hop to it, especially now that it's on the chopping block at Tubi. Here's why you should make sure you watch it before it disappears.
Cage plays, well, "Nick Cage," a struggling actor who accepts a $1 million offer to attend the birthday party of an eccentric fan, Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal).
What starts as an awkward meeting quickly turns into an unlikely friendship before spiraling into a wild crime plot. Cage is hilarious as this raucous version of himself, and he's never afraid to joke about his own shortcomings. Yeah, he knows you thought he was ridiculous in "Snake Eyes". And he doesn't care. That's the beauty of it, though.
Javi is an unhinged fan who's both charming and a little mysterious. His chemistry with Cage is unexpected at first, but it works so well that it turns the movie into a buddy comedy. How do you become "buddies" with a rich fan that has ulterior motives? You'll find out, and you might not be expecting how it all plays out.
The two share a cavalcade of their own memorable moments together, from an LSD-fueled adventure to deep conversations about their favorite films, and it always works, even though there's always a bit of tension there. Is Javi going to go off the deep end? Or is his fascination with Cage genuine?
One particularly great scene sees Cage and Pascal's characters enthusiastically discussing "Paddington 2," a moment so earnest and funny that it alone makes the movie worth watching, especially when it all comes together at the very end.
And when they bond over writing a screenplay together, leading to a hilariously meta scene where the two debate whether their own story should include action element, a clear inside joke about the movie itself, you can't help but smile.
On the other hand, there are all the callbacks to Cage's career, like Cage having intense conversations with a younger, wild version of himself with a manifestation of his former career high points and personal struggles.
And minutes later, there’s a car chase that feels ripped straight from one of his ’90s action classics. There's never really any significant direction it's going to go in, and so you just feel as though you're along for the ride.
So whether you stumbled into a "Best Of Nic Cage" moments video on YouTube and had a laugh or genuinely appreciate him as an actor, you'll find plenty to enjoy in this how-did-this-get-made flick.
You've never seen an actor get so meta about his career while managing to put on an entertaining spectacle, and that's why it's a shame it's leaving Tubi so soon.
If you haven't already had the pleasure of sitting down and giving this movie a chance, it's well worth a couple of hours of your time while you can enjoy it for free. It isn't a cookie-cutter, formulaic adventure like the rest of the big-budget Hollywood flicks Cage has been in, and that's why it works so well.
So take some time out of your schedule this weekend, get in a goofy mindset, and get your Cage-watching goggles on. Savor this one while it doesn't cost a dime, and you'll be in for a good time.
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