While Nicolas waits, debts mount up. He shouts a lot and drinks too much. He wants more than anything to be able to yell, "We're back!" To that, he would add in a sexy undertone, "Not that we went anywhere".
Nicolas is likeable, in spite of his narcissism. There's something in the way he moves, and apparently in the way he kisses. He's a competent goof, a superhero with a hazard warning attached.
Hard to tell what Francis Ford Coppola would think of his nephew after seeing this movie, if he does. Suffice it to say that the two of them disagree on superhero movies. You guessed it: Nic loves them, Francis does not.
Early on there's a brutal attack by masked men on a so-far unidentified young Spanish couple in a Los Angeles apartment, suggesting plot to come, but at first, the film is all about character, all about Nicolas.
There's plot upon plot, once Nicolas accepts a role to perform at a mafioso birthday party in Mallorca: kidnap, heist, an LSD trip, a duel, a motorcycle chase, a death threat, a rich guy who wants his film script to be the next big thing in Hollywood, Nicolas accepting another role, this time as a spy for the CIA, and most remarkably among all the cliches, a beautiful bromance with the birthday boy, Havi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal).
There's outrageous hilarity in almost every scene. The script is witty, always well-paced, a collaboration between director Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten, a Harvard graduate and member of the Harvard Lampoon Club. Mark Isham's music runs close to the plot. Examples of the tracks are Heist, Running on acid and Nick-napped.
A first-rate caper, with acting royalty having a load of fun. You will too. Highly recommended.
• Movies are rated: Avoid, Recommended, Highly recommended and Must see.
GIVEAWAY
The first person to bring an image or hardcopy of this review to Starlight Cinema Taupō qualifies for a free ticket to The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
