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The Weather Man
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Nicholas Cage
Genre:
Comedy/Drama
Run Time: 102
min.
Release Date: October 2005
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
It takes a lot for me to turn a film off. I
feel obligated to finish what I start, not to mention losing the
hard-earned money I spent on renting a movie or going to the theater and
paying up. But I didn’t have to turn off THE WEATHER MAN. It was
a close call, though. My finger hovered over my remote’s "stop" button
several times.
For me, a film has to have some sort of message
(be it of happiness, despair, anguish, social/political, family value
...something), but The Weather Man appears to have none. For
those of you who love pessimism, you might find some enjoyment in this
flick. But not me. I have a bit more upbeat look on life.
I’m an occasional fan of Nicholas Cage (loved him
in LEAVING LAS VEGAS and LORD OF WAR), but in this film
Cage and director Gore Verbinski (PIRATES
OF THE CARIBBEAN) go over the edge and over the top.
Nick Cage plays David Spritz, a weather man for a
local Chicago TV station. Living in Chicago and having this kind of a
job is not what it’s cracked up to be. Illinois’ weather is some of the
most unpredictable in the nation, going from below freezing one day to
80-plus the next. So David gets picked on regularly by citizens of the
windy city (mostly they throw things at him ...like sodas, shakes, hot
apple pies, etc.). To add to his sour life, he’s in the process of a
divorce with his wife Noreen (Hope
Davis,
THE MATADOR) and having to deal with his two children who are rushing into
adulthood — his 12-year-old daughter smokes and his 15-year-old son just
came out of drug rehab. And now, to put icing on the icing, his father
(played by the estimable Michael Caine,
THE DARK KNIGHT) is
dying of lymphoma.
All of these terrible things swirl around David
Spritz, similar to the unpredictable weather. But all doesn’t seem
hopeless. He’s gotten a job offer on a national TV show (think Good Morning America)
but he can’t see the good in it. With life in Chicago falling apart,
David is ready to shoot somebody. Anybody. Oh yes, did I mention that
he’s been practicing archery and carries around a bow and arrow now?
Don’t mess with the weather man.
Labeled as a "comedy/drama," the focus is
definitely more on the drama than the comedy. Black comedies do appeal
to me (I gushed over THE MATADOR), but they need a pretty defined center
that an audience can identify with. You’re not going to find that here.
And it’s really a shame, because I felt The Weather Man could’ve been an
excellent film, but as it stands now it’s just a mesh of depressing
scenes with no focal point.
(back to top) |
Image from The Weather Man
DVD cost: $7.46
Purchase:
Tower.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
The Naperville Central
High School marching band was asked to be in that parade, and the song
they are playing is their school's fight song.
Movie Quote: "People
don't throw things at me any more. Maybe because I carry a bow around."
Other Actors/Actresses
from The Weather Man
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