With ‘The unbearable weight of a huge talent’ we have seen Nicolas Cage break the last frontier and play the most difficult role of his career: himself. An act of bravery to make a fascinating game of cinematic reflectionin addition to an accomplice joke for fans of his acting work.
However, Cage’s case is not the only one where we have been able to see actors breaking barriers of pop culture, deciding to play themselves. Or, at least, a fictionalized version of themselves. These three great films offer us a bit of metacinematic fun at the expense of the interpreters who decide to lend themselves to the carom.
‘Being John Malkovich’ (‘Being John Malkovich’, 1999)
Director: Spike Jonze. Distribution: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich, Orson Bean.
When he was approached for this project, John Malkovich was puzzled as to why he was chosen for this film where a series of people discover a hole that transports them inside a famous actor. Why him and not Tom Cruise? Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman didn’t have much of an answer other than that he thought it was funny that it was Malkovich. And it is true that he is in the right degree of fame for the film to be witty, but do not dominate an impressive intimate drama with its touches of surreal science fiction.
Watch on Amazon Prime Video and on Filmin
‘Ocean’s Twelve’ (2004)
Director: Steven Soderbergh. Distribution: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones.
One of Steven Soderbergh’s biggest and funniest tricks to follow up on the incredible success of his first film was to attempt to return a clever meta-cinematic twist to the sequel. Even he decides to break strange barriers, introducing Bruce Willis playing himself and Julia Roberts playing a double game playing a character posing as Julia Roberts. A play full of layers that gives a touch of spice to another highly entertaining and dazzling heist film.
See on Movistar+
‘Party to the end’ (‘This Is the End’, 2013)
Address: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen. Distribution: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg decided to disguise their darts to Hollywood and its fauna of crossover apocalyptic tape with his trademark friendship celebration stoner comedy. They broke almost all barriers by playing versions of themselves in a risky but hilarious gamble that balances self-criticism with the creation of hilarious jokes.
Watch on Netflix | Criticism in Espinof