POBB April 27, 2022

Pick of the Brown Bag

April 27, 2022

by 

Ray Tate 

Welcome to the Pick of the Brown Bag.  In this special edition I review the film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.   Also known as the one where Nicolas Cage plays himself.

This is a surprising, hilarious film that also benefits from one helluva cast.  The story begins with a well choreographed action sequence that one may find in any good suspense film.  You may wonder what it's doing in a comedy, but this is the initial motivating force of the main plot twist.

The movie cuts next to our star Nicolas Cage in full Nicolas Cage mode.  This obviously is not Cage portraying his biographical self but rather a slice of his true personality mixed with reflective bits and pieces gleaned from other people.  What's interesting is that blended together, the end product resembles a comedic and tragic figure that works extremely well in character-based comedy.

Self-deprecation catalyzes Nicholas' journey and simultaneously introduces Cage's fictional inner circle.  Sharon Horgan, Lilly Sheen and Neil Patrick Harris essay these roles.  With only Harris demonstrating overt comedy chops.  The problems associated with Cage's ex-wife and his daughter are all part of the more nuanced gag, a send-up of biopics creating weight to tabloid gossip.

Unbearable goes off the rails in a good way when Nicholas Cage meets his number one fan, olive millionaire Javi Gutierrez, played by chameleon actor Pedro Pascal.  Yes, the Mandalorian.   Funny, that word isn't in the dictionary yet and requires spell check learning. 

Now, we enter absurd comedy nevertheless drawing strongly on several Abbot and Costello films.  In some of Bud's and Lou's movies such as Meets Frankenstein and The Time of Their Lives, Abbot and Costello played different characters, always comedic, in plots with dramatic consequences.

Backed by an able support team including a shockingly skull shaven Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barrinholtz, playing it straight, Nicholas Cage becomes Nicholas Cage reluctant action hero.  

In these scenes, the filmmakers parody the idea that if an actor or actress can do their own stunts they are better equipped to survive life and death situations.  They are in essence their characters.  

This farce serves Cage in curious set-pieces that evolve naturally out of a strong script.  They're at once typical of action films but also benefitting from atypical deviations.

Unbearable is a very strange, funny film and highly meta, but in ways you really don't expect.  The comedy is so well-acted, so well-directed that sometimes the dramatic moments suck you in, particularly the bromance between Cage and Javi, and you fall for the joke.