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Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The

6/10

Stars: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Tiffany Haddish, Neil Patrick Harris, Lily Sheen, Ike Barinholtz, Demi Moore

Director: Tom Gormican

This strange movie starts off as a satire on Nicolas Cage (himself, and occasionally also seen as his alter ego). We find him dejected after being rejected for a 'great role' in a film, getting drunk and ruining his daughter's (Sheen) birthday party, owing $600,000 to the hotel he stays in (would any hotel put up with such a loss?) and divorced from his wife (Horgan).

Determined to give up acting, he flees to Mallorca where, with grinding gear change, the film develops into a straight thriller showing us what a great guy and action hero Cage really is. This apparent dichotomy may be explained, if not altogether, by the fact that one N Cage is the movie's producer: it's almost as if the star couldn't bear to go through with the original theme.

It is, however, entertaining, if never entirely comfortable in its own skin.

Once in Mallorca, Cage - scenes where he converses with his alter ego are underused - runs into Javi (Pascal), an aspiring screenwriter who plunges him headlong into a kidnap plot, with Cage's own daughter as one of the victims.

In real life, Cage has three more films ready for release, and is about to embark on his next role, as Dracula. He should worry about his image. It's Britain's Horgan, however, who's the star turn here.

David Quinlan

USA 2022. UK Distributor: LionsGate. Colour (unspecified).
106 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 18 Apr 2022