Nicolas Cage struggles with his image in the ego document The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent ★★★☆☆

In 2008, the shunned action film star Jean-Claude van Damme presented herself with the masterly ego document JCVD on the rack. Van Damme acts in that film as playfully as he is ruthless. The scene in court is striking, where he fights for the custody of his child. The opposing lawyer conjures up a stack of DVDs with the most violent Van Damme films, as conclusive proof of irresponsible parenting.

The comparable The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, starring Nicolas Cage in the role of Nicolas Cage-in-existential-crisis, dares not be nearly so merciless. A film that ties in with the countless Cage memes that have been pumped around over the past decade, with his penchant for grotesquely overacting† ‘The most Nicolas Cage movie ever’, sounds the tagline on the movie poster.

The film shows the actor as a vain with money problems, but first and foremost respects him. It’s especially touching that he really believes his teenage daughter is enjoying a joint viewing session of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligaria (ancient and German) and his subsequent uninhibited film lecture.

If Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent struggles with something, especially with his professional image. He dreams of a part in a small but ambitious film in which he can live up to all his artistic pretensions, but is therefore laughed at by his alter-ego Nicky. A younger and rougher version of himself that occasionally appears in his subconscious (in Wild at Heartshirt). Unlike his real life, in which he spent the past few years enjoying the perfect madness of cult film Mandy alternated with the modest character drama pighis more ambitious plans do not get off the ground in this film.

An offer to spend the birthday weekend of his biggest fan Javi (Pedero Pascal) for one million dollars on the estate of the wealthy olive grover offers a solution. The fact that Javi wants to force his own film script on him and that he is suspected of being the leader of an arms trade syndicate does not stand in the way of a charmingly played bromance.

The witty but also somewhat coquettish chain of movie references (Cage steps into a swimming pool a la Leaving Las VegasCage shoots two pistols at once à la Face/Off) is more distracting than holding up a mirror to the actor or his audience. Turns out all that self-conscious stuff is mainly a stepping stone for a decent buddy comedy.