Nicolas Cage is a legit national treasure and it’s a joy to see him celebrated in such a way as in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”

Playing a version of himself, Cage is supported by a loving script that carefully knows when to poke fun at the actor, his “nouveau shamanic” acting style, massive filmography (with varying rates of success), financial troubles and his simple unabashed love for film as an art form — and it knows when to pull it all back. This gentle balancing act gives “Unbearable Weight” its heart and its supporting cast gives it its soul.

The premise is fairly simple: Constantly working actor Nick Cage (Cage) is in dire straits, his debts are piling up, he’s losing out on juicy roles he hopes will bolster his career, and he’s emotionally estranged from his teenage daughter, Addy (Lily Sheen). He’s visited by a personified version of his id, a younger looking version of himself known as Nicky, who both berates and encourages Nick to go after these superstar roles rather than taking every part that comes his way.

With his struggle to connect with Addy, an ex-wife (Sharon Horgan) who wishes he could get his life together and an agent (Neil Patrick Harris) who has one offer on the table — a $1 million check just to attend a birthday party in Spain — Nick hastily decides he’s going to retire and, in a boozed soaked, depressed state, accepts the invite to Mallorca.

When he arrives, he’s met by the birthday boy, Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal), head of an olive corporation and Cage fanboy, or so it’s meant to seem. Turns out the CIA is on Javi’s trail as they believe he’s the head of a large crime ring and responsible for kidnapping the daughter of an anti-crime politician up for reelection. So the agents (Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinhotlz) enlist the actor to help them find her, using his own fraught relationship with Addy as their catalyst to get him to accept.

But Cage and Javi end up really hitting it off, sharing similar interests and movie favorites, the further Nick goes to try and find the kidnapped teen, the more his and Javi’s bond deepens.

Director Tom Gormican (who also co-wrote the script with Kevin Etten) has an incredibly strong vision of what kind of movie “Unbearable Weight” is, taking it from a comedic character study to an action flick without questioning or missing a beat. It’s silly and made for someone who already appreciates Cage’s volume of work, or at least Cage himself. And with Gormican’s surefooted handling of the film, it shines brightly in its unabashed love for its star.

Mixing meta-theatrics and gonzo storytelling, it could have been so easy for the film to jump the proverbial shark, but it doesn’t. Somehow it manages to keep itself grounded, or at least as much as the batty plot allows. Part of this gravity is thanks to — as with most Nicolas Cage movies — the surrounding cast. Pascal in particular is utterly delightful as Javi. His boyish exuberance at meeting his hero is infectious and you can’t help but fall in love with him and his pure joy at being around Cage. Both Pascal and Cage make the film simply irresistible.

Obviously, the film is littered with references to Cage’s CV, but it also includes a hefty dose of historic Hollywood references and homages, as well as a sprinkling of industry lingo that may throw viewers who aren’t as familiar with the subjects, but it never makes “Weight” inaccessible. Even if you can’t remember “Con-Air” or “Face Off,” you’ll still appreciate and (hopefully) guffaw at the jokes, so long as you like Cage, that is.

Yes, there are people in the world who don’t like this hard-working actor in anything, and that’s just fine, but I suggest you challenge yourself with this one: You may be surprised, because Cage is brilliant in it. While I still think his performance in last year’s “Pig” might be his finest, his work as Nick Cage is also incredible. He’s realistic but a little eccentric, warm but a little standoffish and plain brilliant throughout.

To paraphrase what Nick (the character) repeats throughout “Unbearable Weight,” Nicolas Cage is back — not that he went anywhere — and it is wonderful to see.

“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”

107 minutes

Rated R for language throughout, some sexual references, drug use and violence

4 stars