The Critics Have Had Their Say On The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent

Nicolas Cage's filmography has no shortage of strange roles, but the most wonderfully twisted of those may just be ... Nicolas Cage. "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" finds Cage playing a version of himself, down on his luck and convinced to attend the birthday party of a man whose riches may have been earned through nefarious means. Enter the CIA, Cage's golden guns from "Face/Off," and a bromance subplot between Cage and his rich admirer (Pedro Pascal), and you have what promises to be one trippy movie. 

Directed by Tom Gormican, "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" drops as Cage is on an upswing in his career, fresh off of his critically-praised performance in "Pig" and now filming the perfectly-cast role of Dracula in "Renfield." Gormican's movie also stars actors like Neil Patrick Harris and Tiffany Haddish. It doesn't hit theaters until April 22, but it has made its premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The movie already has critics buzzing and has even earned a rare honor on Rotten Tomatoes (for the time being, at least). 

Following its premiere at South by Southwest, "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" has a perfect 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which has collected a total of 17 reviews from critics as of the time of writing. That may change as more reviews come in, but regardless, those who have seen the movie thus far have been heaping praise not just on the film, but on Nicolas Cage himself for his performance in the bizarre comedy. 

"Cage playing a version of himself makes for a unique meta-comedy featuring no shortage of poignant moments and riotous gags that'll deepen your appreciation for his work," Meagan Navarro wrote for Bloody Disgusting. 

Others applauded the flick for its appreciation of Cage's body of work and for becoming a Nicolas Cage movie itself in the end, harkening back to the actor's action classics like "Face/Off" and "Con Air." "A commercial comedy that has a delirious good time poking fun at Nicolas Cage, celebrating everything that makes him Nicolas Cage — and, in the end, actually becoming a Nicolas Cage movie, which turns out to be both a cheesy thing and a special thing," Owen Gleiberman wrote in his review for Variety. Pulling from Cage's filmography made Cage's latest movie "transcendent," Marya E. Gates also wrote in praise of the movie for RogerEbert.com. 

Few films can maintain a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score – even "Toy Story 3" lost the honor – but no matter what happens when "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" premieres in April, it is clearly already impressing plenty of people.