It’s certainly not a frequent occurrence, but when performers are cast in prominent roles as themselves in live-action movies, there is usually some tweaking involved. It’s not them but fictionalized versions of them, such as John Malkovich in “Being John Malkovich,” Bill Murray in “Zombieland,” and Neil Patrick Harris in the “Harold & Kumar” franchise. Up until now (to my knowledge, at least), no actor has played the lead character in any such a movie before and, after watching Nicolas Cage do so here, I believe it is something few, if any other actor could convincingly pull off.
In the too-busy titled “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” [TUWOMT], Cage plays Nick Cage, an actor who, try as he might to hide it, is becoming increasingly desperate and has his heart set on what he thinks will be the dream role that will salvage his sagging career.
