Nicolas Cage Plays (and Parodies) Himself in the Trailer for 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent'
It's the role Nicolas Cage was born to play: himself.
When an actor adds new movies to their resume quickly — popping up in new flicks every couple of months or so, and never proving far from their next film — there's a chance they might run out of worthy on-screen opportunities. The one actor that'll never apply to: Nicolas Cage. He's prolific, he stars in far too many terrible flicks, when he's at his best he's downright brilliant, and he always has something interesting around the corner.
In 2021 alone, he's shouted expletives from Netflix, battled demonic animatronics and teamed up with one of Japan's most out-there filmmakers. He also played a truffle hunter on a quest for revenge after his pet pig is stolen, in the aptly named Pig, which is one of the year's definite movie highlights. The latter saw him turn in one of the best performances of his career, in fact, but Cage has been preparing his entire life to play his next part: himself.
Yes, we've seen Cage break out of Alcatraz, sing Elvis songs, run around the streets convinced that he's a vampire, let his long hair flap in the wind and swap faces. He's voiced a version of Spider-Man, driven fast cars, fought space ninjas and stolen babies as well. Staying in his own shoes stands out, though, which is exactly what The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent will serve up in April next year.
Announced earlier in 2021, and just dropping its first trailer now, the movie will follow the on-screen, fictionalised Cage as he accepts an offer to attend a super fan's birthday. Getting paid $1 million is just too much to pass up. He needs the money, but he also has to save both himself and his loved ones along the way. Yep, that sounds about right.
As well as Cage playing Cage — not to be confused with his work in Adaptation, where he played two characters — The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent features Pedro Pascal (Wonder Woman 1984) as the aforementioned Cage devotee, and also Tiffany Haddish (The Card Counter), Sharon Horgan (This Way Up) and Neil Patrick Harris (It's a Sin).
Are We Officially Dating? filmmaker Tom Gormican sits in the director's chair, because if there's anything this story needs, it's the director of a Zac Efron and Michael B Jordan-starring rom-com pivoting to total Cage worship.
And yes, whether this'll be one of Cage's undeniable delights or pure cinematic chaos won't be discovered until the film hits cinemas — but he's clearly having a ball based on this sneak peek, and seeing him play and parody himself really does demand everyone's eyeballs.
Check out the trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent below:
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent will release in Australian cinemas on April 21, 2022.
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