The Unsurprising Return of Nicholas Cage

Now, if you don’t live under a rock, you know that Nicholas Cage has recently been making waves in pop culture. Cage is famous for his leading roles in movies such as “Raising Arizona” (Coen Brothers, 1987), “National Treasure” (Turteltaub, 2004) and “The Rock” (Bay, 1996). Public opinion within the last decade or so has established Cage as a talented actor and film icon. Fans of all ages on social media hold him in high regard because of his skill, as well as his unique personality on and off the screen.   

Last week, I had the privilege of watching Cage’s most recently released film, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” (Gormican, 2022), in which Cage plays himself. In the movie, Cage is a washed-up actor who once accomplished great feats in Hollywood yet in his middle age, continually struggles with finding new employment opportunities and sustaining an emotional relationship with his daughter, Addy. After a failed audition for an upcoming film and fully embarrassing himself in a drunken state at Addy’s 16th birthday party, Cage finds himself traveling to Spain to live with superfan Javi Gutierrez (played by Pedro Pascal). This is in exchange for an exorbitant sum of money, engaging in several dangerous escapades for the duration of his stay.   

Unsurprisingly, Cage has found a way to successfully profit from his recent surge in popularity online. In fact, upon watching a television advertisement for the release of “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”, I found myself saying: “well, I should at least give it a try, Nick Cage is in it!” (I’m not embarrassed to have said that.) Conversely, one might also suggest Cage hosts a certain level of arrogance, in that he decided to play himself in a film was enough to market it to the general public. Additionally, the way that Cage portrays himself in the movie is quite arrogant— Cage (as the character) is constantly making things about himself, which is one of the barriers preventing him from having a solid relationship with Addy. However, playing himself must have been a challenge for Cage, as talented as he is. To play yourself requires a certain level of self-reflexivity and self-knowledge that many individuals (actors or otherwise) do not have. Cage adds his own unique dry humor to the performance, elevating the lackluster and confusing narrative and allowing the audience to identify a little more with his predicament. As usual, Cage calls his viewers onto the screen with him to experience the narrative. I think this makes it easier to laugh, cry and roll your eyes along with him.    

In a film world full of superheroes and sequels (now don’t get me wrong, I am a sucker for franchises, too. Let us not forget how good “Top Gun: Maverick” [Kosinski, 2022] was), “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” stands out among the releases of 2022. Even if it is good purely for its uniqueness. The narrative wasn’t very developed, the plot was hard to follow and it wasn’t revolutionary production-wise—but it made me laugh, and Nick Cage was in it. Sometimes, that is just enough.