Not since John Malkovich played John Malkovich in a movie called Being John Malkovich have we had such a meta movie experience as what is in store for us in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The new film will see Nicolas Cage play Nicolas Cage in an action comedy and the first trailer for the film is here and it is everything. If you thought the idea of seeing the eccentric actor playing himself would be nuts, wait until you actually see this.
The trailer introduces us to the movie’s version of Nic Cage, who, while he might technically be a fictionalized version of the actor we know and love, has starred in all those great movies that we also know and love. He’s offered $1 million to pal around with a super rich super fan, played by Pedro Pascal. And since he needs the money, he takes the gig. However, the CIA is also interested in this guy, so Cage is also an untrained operative, and as we see here, things get a little crazy, forcing the movie action hero to become a “real” action hero.
Everything about The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent looks epic and hilarious. We see a Nic Cage in this movie who is a guy who clearly needs money, something that we know is a not uncommon situation for the actual actor. While he’s put together one of the most extensive filmographies in recent history, some of those choices have clearly been jobs he took because he needed the paycheck.
What’s more, he’s probably also had situations where he’s done things outside of making movies for the same reason. This new film is likely inspired by the real Nic Cage even more than we can see.
But that’s the beauty of the whole concept. While the movie is fictional, it’s close enough to reality that audiences are going to get entirely on board. Nicolas Cage is playing an amped up version of himself, but the amped up version is the one we most often see in his film roles, so we can easily buy that this is just the way he really is.
And while there’s a huge comedic element at play, what makes this trailer work is that everybody, including Nicolas Cage, is clearly taking the entire thing seriously. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent has an impressive supporting cast including Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, and Neil Patrick Harris. Most of them are not playing themselves.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent was, like so many movies, delayed by a year, so we’ve had to wait far too long to see what this wild movie will bring us. The movie is set to open on April 22, 2022.
