The Big Picture · Discussion · Hall of Fame

The Nicolas Cage Hall of Fame and ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’

April 26, 2022/ 98 min/ Sean Fennessey · Rob Mahoney · Van Lathan

Sean Fennessey, Rob Mahoney, and Van Lathan review The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, then spend the back half of the show building a ten-film Nicolas Cage Hall of Fame out of a filmography that runs past ninety movies.

97 films across 2 segments.

AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive TalentTom Gormican's meta-action comedy, Cage playing a version of himself

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent poster

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 2022

A broke, self-parodying Nic Cage takes $1 million to attend a superfan's (Pedro Pascal) birthday party and gets pulled into a CIA operation. Van calls it more compelling as an experiment than as a movie; Rob thinks it plays broad Hollywood satire instead of digging into Cage the way it could have. Both agree it's at its best as a hangout movie between Cage and Pascal, and both single out the box office, about $7 million on opening weekend, as a sign there's no longer a mass audience left to sell an inside-baseball Cage movie to.

The Nicolas Cage Hall of Famechronological rundown of the filmography, sorted red / yellow / green down to a final ten

Fast Times at Ridgemont High 1982

Cage's first film role, an uncredited fry cook billed as Brad's Bud. Immediate red.

Valley Girl 1983

His breakout, playing Randy. Called a yellow, argued as the mandatory big-break-movie induction, ultimately cut in the final trim.

Rumble Fish 1983

First of several films with uncle Francis Ford Coppola. A mid-tier part; not in.

Racing with the Moon 1984

Not in.

The Cotton Club 1984

Plays Vincent Dwyer, another Coppola picture. Called “a fascinating miss.” Not in.

Birdy 1984

“A good movie,” but no one makes a case for it. Not in.

The Boy in Blue 1986

Not in.

Peggy Sue Got Married 1986

Second lead opposite Kathleen Turner, another Coppola collaboration. Yellow alongside Valley Girl, cut once Moonstruck covers the same ground better.

Raising Arizona 1987

In the final ten. “Arguably the best movie he's been a part of.” Sean calls his H.I. McDunnough the human Wile E. Coyote.

Moonstruck 1987

In the final ten. Plays Ronny Cammareri opposite Cher; called maybe his most charming performance and the movie that has to be in because of sheer cultural weight.

Vampire's Kiss 1988

In the conversation for craziest Cage performance ever: he eats a live cockroach on camera. Agreed to be memorable but not enduring enough to make the cut.

Time to Kill 1989

An Italian production, explicitly not the John Grisham adaptation of the same name. Red, and not seen by all three hosts.

Wild at Heart 1990

In the final ten. David Lynch's Sailor Ripley. Held at yellow for most of the conversation before making the final cut over Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and Pig.

Fire Birds 1990

Called a cheap Top Gun knockoff. Not in; none of the hosts have seen it.

Zandalee 1991

A straight-to-video release. Not in; none of the hosts have seen it.

Honeymoon in Vegas 1992

A mainstream Andrew Bergman rom-com the hosts agree “means something” to Cage's career arc. Yellow, ultimately cut.

Amos & Andrew 1993

Cage and Samuel L. Jackson in a race satire the hosts call one of the dumbest movies they've seen. Not in.

Red Rock West 1993

Van's pick for an underseen Cage noir; Rob makes a strong case for it as one of the actor's best, simmering performances. Held at yellow before losing out to bigger, more central films.

Deadfall 1993

A lesser neo-noir. Not in.

Guarding Tess 1994

Not in.

It Could Happen to You 1994

Not in.

Trapped in Paradise 1994

Van has real affection for it as a childhood favorite, but it's not in.

Kiss of Death 1995

A “batshit” remake of the 1947 noir with Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Rapaport. Loved as a viewing experience, not in the Hall.

Leaving Las Vegas 1995

In the final ten. Cage's Best Actor Oscar win; automatic, no debate.

The Rock 1996

In the final ten. First-ballot, no questions asked.

Con Air 1997

In the final ten. The subject of the episode's biggest argument: Rob initially ranks it third behind The Rock and Face/Off, Van fights hard for it, and it survives into the final ten.

Face/Off 1997

In the final ten. John Woo's Castor Troy. Automatically in, no debate.

City of Angels 1998

A $198 million hit opposite Meg Ryan. Argued hard for by Van given its box office, but cut from the final ten.

Snake Eyes 1998

Brian De Palma thriller Sean calls one of the most incredible pieces of filmmaking of the late '90s, but he declines to fight for its inclusion. Not in.

8MM 1999

Van's a defender of this one, but it's not in.

Bringing Out the Dead 1999

Cage's one Martin Scorsese collaboration. Called a really good performance in a movie that came out in the shadow of Casino. Yellow, ultimately cut.

Gone in Sixty Seconds 2000

A stylish, empty hit later overshadowed by the Fast and the Furious franchise. Yellow, ultimately cut.

The Family Man 2000

Rob's introduction to Cage as an 11-year-old. Not in the Hall.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin 2001

Referenced for the Unbearable Weight joke made at its expense. Not in.

Windtalkers 2002

A reunion with John Woo that wasn't a success. Not in.

Sonny 2002

Cage's directorial debut; he also has a small role as Acid Yellow. Not in.

Adaptation 2002

In the final ten. Spike Jonze's Charlie and Donald Kaufman, an Oscar-nominated dual performance the group calls his most transformational. Automatic in.

Matchstick Men 2003

In the final ten. Ridley Scott's con-man drama. The last spot in the final ten comes down to this versus National Treasure and Pig; Sean, as decider, picks Matchstick Men.

National Treasure 2004

A $350 million Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster. Debated hard as the populist pick for the final spot: Van argues for it on scale, Rob and Sean ultimately go with Matchstick Men instead.

Lord of War 2005

Well liked by the hosts but agreed not to be a Hall of Fame movie.

The Weather Man 2005

Van's personal favorite of the whole filmography, but the group agrees it's not making the final cut.

The Ant Bully 2006

A voice role. Not in.

World Trade Center 2006

Oliver Stone's 9/11 drama, called sincere and well made but not great. Not in.

The Wicker Man 2006

Neil LaBute's remake, source of the most-memed Cage clip of all (the bees). Not a Hall of Fame movie on its own merits, though the group jokes the meme itself deserves a spot in the lobby.

Ghost Rider 2007

Not in.

Grindhouse 2007

Cage cameos as Fu Manchu in the Werewolf Women of the SS fake trailer. Not in.

Next 2007

Lee Tomahori thriller Sean watched for the first time this week and found surprisingly bad. Not in.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets poster

National Treasure: Book of Secrets 2007

Cage's highest-grossing U.S. film. Not in; the hosts explicitly reject grosses as a qualifying metric.

Bangkok Dangerous 2008

Not in.

Knowing 2009

Van was surprised by how much it worked for him at the time. Not in.

G-Force 2009

A voice role, a gerbil. Not in.

Astro Boy 2009

A voice role, Dr. Tenma. Not in.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans poster

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans 2009

Werner Herzog's loose sequel to the Abel Ferrara film. Called one of Cage's best performances of the period; held at yellow, ultimately cut.

Kick-Ass 2010

Cage plays Big Daddy. Not in.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice 2010

Not in.

Season of the Witch 2011

Not in.

Drive Angry 2011

Sean says he kind of likes it. Not in.

Seeking Justice 2011

None of the hosts have seen it. Not in.

Trespass 2011

Not in.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 2011

Not in.

Stolen 2012

Not in.

The Croods 2013

A voice role (Grug) and a hit. Not in.

The Frozen Ground 2013

Cage plays a detective hunting a serial killer in Alaska. Not in.

Joe 2013

David Gordon Green drama, referenced again via a cameo from Green in Unbearable Weight. Not in.

Rage 2014

None of the hosts have seen it. Not in.

Outcast 2014

None of the hosts have seen it. Not in.

Left Behind 2014

The Christian-apocalypse adaptation, to the hosts' shock. Not in.

Dying of the Light 2014

A Paul Schrader film reportedly re-edited against his wishes. Not in.

The Runner 2015

None of the hosts have seen it. Not in.

Pay the Ghost 2015

None of the hosts have seen it. Not in.

Snowden 2016

A rare supporting role in a big-director mainstream film that none of the hosts can recall much about. Not in.

Dog Eat Dog 2016

A second Schrader collaboration, with Willem Dafoe. Called a fun, grimy crime movie, not a Hall of Fame one.

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage 2016

Not in.

Army of One 2016

Not in.

Arsenal 2017

None of the hosts have seen it. Not in.

Vengeance: A Love Story 2017

Not in.

Inconceivable 2017

Not in.

Mom and Dad 2017

A horror-comedy with Selma Blair. Called pretty fun. Not in.

Mandy 2018

In the final ten. Panos Cosmatos's psychedelic revenge film, credited as the start of the modern Cage-aissance. Held at “yellow minimum” and argued as too central to Cage's story to leave out; makes the final cut.