The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Did you know that Nicholas Cage has made over 100 movies?  Many of them have been less than stellar, some highly entertaining, and he even won an Oscar (a loong time ago) for “Leaving Las Vegas.” (My favorite role of his:  Moonstruck)  In his newest outing Nicholas Cage plays…………Nicholas Cage!!  What an interesting idea.  Cage doesn’t hesitate to make fun of his financial difficulties, bad movie choices, spending habits and complicated  family life.  The plot revolves around an eccentric millionaire who is Cage’s biggest fan and wants to pay him $1,000,000 to attend his birthday party.  The wealthy fan is played by Pedro Pascal who won many admirers with his heartbreaking portrayal of Oberon Martell in “Game of Thrones” and as the helmet wearing Mandalorian.  They make a cute couple, so to speak.  Anyway it turns out that The Super Fan might be a cartel boss.  But there’s a complication (side story, that is).  A CIA agent played by Tiffany Haddish and her partner are trying to take down the big cartel, and she ends up recruiting Cage to get valuable intel on a kidnapping that has political fallout.  This is a somewhat enjoyable romp, not as funny as “The Lost City” but still, what were you expecting?  It will help your enjoyment of this movie if you haven’t seen any of the trailers so that the funny parts are a surprise.  I loved the references to past Nicholas Cage movies and the room full of memorabilia was a trip.  This is very light fare, but sometimes, that is just what you need.