Much ado has been made about Nicolas Cage’s larger-than-life movies and acting panache. The Oscar winner— whose cinematic presence has endured throughout four decades — has headlined countless genres, including B movies-turned-cult classics (“Vampire’s Kiss”), action blockbusters (“Face/Off”), romantic comedies (“Moonstruck”), weighty dramas (“Leaving Las Vegas”), independent projects (“Pig”) and trippy indies (“Adaptation.”). It’s this versatility of character portrayals, varying degrees of flamboyant line delivery and an extraordinary off-screen persona that have transformed Cage into an unwitting walking, talking (and sometimes yelling) meme.
The memeification of Cage has in and of itself spurred a Cage-ification of pop culture, and that’s the foundation for Lionsgate’s “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” which stars Cage as his greatest character yet — himself. Rather, a fictionalized, off-the-wall and sometimes CGI-produced young version of himself.
The action-comedy spoof, from director-writer Tom Gormican and executive producer Kevin Etten (who previously collaborated on the short-lived Fox sitcom “Ghosted”), sees Cage — on the edge of bankruptcy — accept a $1 million offer to attend an über-wealthy super-fan’s (Pedro Pascal) birthday party at his agent’s behest (Neil Patrick Harris). But things take a turn when CIA agents (Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz) recruit him for a special undercover mission, where the ailing actor is forced to deliver the performance of his life.
“Unbearable Weight” is a blast of a caper that beckons the viewer to sit back, buckle in and throw their hands up for its frenzied rollercoaster ride. Without further dallying, here’s everything you need to know about how to watch the film.
Where can I watch “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”?
The film premiered in theaters April 22 after a critically acclaimed world premiere at this year’s South by Southwest film festival March 12.
Currently, “Massive Talent” is only available in theaters.
When will “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” be streaming?
Lionsgate is the distributor behind the film, and given its acquisition of Starz, it’s likely that “Massive Talent” will come to the streaming platform at a later date in 2022. Prior to that, the movie will likely have a VOD rent date in the early summer, judging by the timeline of other Lionsgate releases.
Who else is in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” cast?
In addition to Cage, Haddish, Harris, Pascal and Barinholtz, “Unbearable Weight” features Sharon Horgan and Lily Sheen (who play Cage’s wife and daughter, respectively), Paco León, Alessandra Mastronardi and Jacob Scipio. The film also includes a cameo appearance from Demi Moore.
OK, I know what the movie is about, but how did “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” actually come about?
“Massive Talent’s” official website boasts the simple title of “Nick Cage Movie,” so how did its story actually come about? The actor himself, also a producer on the film, revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he initially “wanted no part of it” and turned down the offer from Gormican “three or four times” before an impassioned letter from the director made him reconsider.
“There was no muscle in my body that told me I should play a character named Nick Cage, it was absolute horror,” he later told Variety. “However, the director wrote me a very intelligent, sensitive letter, and in that letter I knew he was a true film enthusiast that likes some of the earlier work. He wanted to make a movie that was about people, not about caricatures or cartoons.”
