The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a 2022 American action comedy film directed by Tom Gormican, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Etten. It stars Nicolas Cage as a fictionalized version of himself, along with a supporting cast including Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish and Caroline Boulton. The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 2022, and was released in the United States on April 22, 2022, by Lionsgate. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances and chemistry of Cage and Pascal, but performed poorly at the box office, grossing only $29.1 million against its $30 million budget.
Thank you. Look, can you just stop stalling and answer the question? What is your third favorite movie of all time? Paddington 2. What? Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Paddington 2. Connect those dots. I mean, I don't wanna be a snob, but... I cried through the entire thing. It made me want to be a better man. Bullshit, man!
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Did you hate my screenplay? It's okay if you did. I just need to know. You wrote a script? I sent it to your agent. He was supposed to give it to you. Well, he didn't. I guess I can understand why he didn't, but where is it? I'll read it right now. Now? Like, right now? Right now. Send it.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Oh. Hey, Nicky. So, you're unretired then? That's the idea. Javi inspired you, did he? You like this guy? He has good taste in movies. Plus, it could be good for me to do some smaller roles with great directors. Some challenging character work. Huh. So, like, um... like what? The gay uncle in the next duplass brothers movie kind of thing? Exactly. What the fuck are you talking about? We haven't worked since you were 15... Forty-one years to be number seven on a call sheet of a goddamn student film. I think it's a good idea. You listen to me. You're Nick fucking... Cage! Addy doesn't need a struggling artist for a father. She needs you to be a star. Now you get the next one, baby, and we're back. Not that we went anywhere. Not that we went anywhere. Come here.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
What do you guys want? You want money? Here, take my watch. It's not a copy, it's real. Mr. Cage, we're with the U.S. government. We need your help. The man you're staying with is the head of a violent international arms cartel. Wait, wait, wait. Javi? He's a ruthless motherfucker. He started small, coastal Spain. But then, he got greedy. Trying to expand his operations east, west. Trail of dead bodies in his wake. Javi Gutierrez? Yes, Javi. I don't think we're talking about the same Javi. We're definitely talking about the same fucking Javi. It's the same fucking guy, man. Okay, okay. So, you're CIA, some kind of intelligence, right? And your job is to read people, yeah? Well, as a thespian, that is also my job. To understand people's characters, to feel what they're feeling. Which is how I know that Javi is not a gun dealer. You're saying your acting ability trumps five years of hard data collected by the world's finest intelligence agency? My nouveau shamanic acting ability? You better fucking believe it. Oh! Hey, guys, this sucks. Uh, Nicolas cage's nouveau shamanic acting ability has determined that we got the wrong guy. So, let's pack up our shit and fucking go home. Hey, man, don't mind him. He's all messed up inside. He just found out his wife's been fucking his dad. That's not all the way true. Look, do you recognize this girl?
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
No. It's Maria delgado. President of catalonia's daughter. Javi's men kidnapped her two days ago to force her father out of the election and make way for someone more cartel-friendly. Yeah, the U.S. doesn't like that. Yeah, look, hey. We need to access Javi's security cameras. We can't get anywhere near that compound because it's too fortified.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent