The Weather Man (2005)

Greetings again from the darkness. So Close. This is painfully close to being a great film. Although still very good at presenting issues normally not seen on film, director Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean" "The Ring") falls just short of making a very powerful statement.

Please do not let the trailer fool you. This is not slapstick comedy like "Anchorman". This is deep, often dark subject matter addressing the emotional struggles men face when dealing with a bad divorce, trying to maintain a relationship with kids, and the pressures of trying to make one's own dad proud (or at least gain acceptance). So often Hollywood deals with the plight of the woman and her emotional turmoil. Instead we are "treated" with watching a man's attempt to live up to (what he thinks are) expectations of others and how somehow the right job will make everything OK ... his life will be whole.

Nicolas Cage gives another outstanding performance as "The Weather Man" on a Chicago TV station. To add to the complexity, he is not a meteorologist and he is being courted by a national morning talk show featuring Bryant Gumbel. Two areas with this character are poorly written in my opinion. First, Cage's hair weave is bloody awful. At least in Dallas, weather men all look like Televangelists with perfect hair. His is always askew ... don't they have hair/make-up staff in Chicago? Second, the character is written as too much of a loser in all aspects. He is not just struggling, he is not someone any guy or girl would want to hang with. The film tries, but fails, to show the "switch" come on when Cage steps in front of the camera. They tell us this happens, but it needed to be presented much clearer.

Playing Cage's father, Michael Caine is a pretty intimidating figure as he is confused about his son's direction in life while at the same time facing a very dark future of his own. Caine is wonderful in the role and when he tells his son "Sometimes in life, you just have to chuck it", we really get it and hope that Cage does as well.

On the other hand, Hope Davis is cast as yet another frigid "B" yuppie whom I don't understand how any man could be attracted to. Yet somehow this is the woman Cage wants back. Time to stretch your talent a bit Hope. You showed plenty of promise in "About Schmidt" and have been working steadily since. But to take the next step as an actress, you need to try a new character. Gil Bellows ("Aly McBeal") has a creepy role as Cage's teenage son's counselor. He is responsible for some of the most uncomfortable moments as well as a way for Cage to finally cut loose.

As I said, this is a very good movie that falls just short of greatness. While providing insight into the male psyche, it fails to deliver the message or solution it seemed to be leading up to. However, it is nice to see a man portrayed as something other than a superhero, adulterer, international spy or Olympic caliber lover.

Fmovies: Yeah yeah, I get it, film snobs. This is high art. It's an homage to melancholic French film noir, with lots of drab snow and blue filtered lenses. "You just don't understand tragic comedy," some of you may suggest. Oh, I understand it all right. Only "The Weather Man" makes a dog's dinner of that particular genre, if that's indeed what they were going for. I'm not sure.

If awards are given for such things, Nick Cage might get an award for maintaining the same long monotonous hang-dog facial expression in nearly every scene for two hours of screen time. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton perfected this bit. The sad, luckless clown, wondering through life getting beat down, but winning our hearts because they persevere. Cage can't bring it on like Keaton. About half way through this mess, I was hoping he'd get hit with a brick, not a sandwich.

But I have to hand it to Paramount Pictures for the most shameless product placement I've ever seen in a film: They literally throw their products, logos and all, right at Cage, making the image stick in your mind while it sticks to Cage's suits and overcoats.

Splat! McDonalds. Splat! Big Gulp, 7-Eleven. Splat! Splat! Taco Bell. And it case you were too dense to pick up on that, you could see the McDonalds golden arches reflected in window glass and slightly out of focus in the background of a half dozen shots. I mean, come on! If this was supposed to be Haute Ciné, it must be some kind of cynical inside joke to have the lead character covered in advertising like a NASCAR hot rod.

I won't spoil it for those of you who like to wallow in excruciating maudlin muck. I know some people are uplifted watching other people morbidly depressed. But for the rest of us who may be less enlightened to the entertainment or artistic value of watching some unloved schmendrick stumbling along in misery, this film will make you want to have a drink, or several. Or worse, jump off a tall building or stick your head in a gas oven.

In short, this film doesn't deliver any truth you didn't have already. It's just a depressing mess.

It was only when Michael Cane's character delivered the line: "In this sh*t life, you have to chuck some things" pretty far into the picture when I suddenly realized I should have chucked this thing after the first twenty minutes. Take his advice, and mine, and leave this one on the video rental shelf.

Summary: A middle aged weather man with a failing family life, sick parent and dull job copes with his life and aspires to move to a national TV show.

A great movie about the modern dilemma. It is about American society and its problems seen through the life of one guy. It talks about his problems, his mortality, his moral failings, and his caring soul as well. Nicely written, great photography of Lake Michigan covered in ice. Lots of great scenes where Nicholas Cage pull off difficult performances. Many sadly comic scenes including a dream sequence with Sponge Bob that is a wonderfully surreal.

I am afraid that disapproving critics don't understand the deep irony and existential humor like a Kurt Vonnegut novel. Nothing illustrates this better than the scene where Cage's character sees the giant balloon of Sponge Bob floating by. The meaning and meaningless of life together with family and ambition together with human frailty come together wonderfully and with humor.

The Weather Man fmovies. The Weather Man is a low key movie about a boring person who is deluded about life in a clueless manner. He had a great award winning dad, he became a fairly inept dad, and he's trying to change that.

The film is pretty monotone in term of story and visual to underline exactly how bland the guy and his job are. Nicolas Cage doesn't have a great acting range, but this role fits him pretty well, and he did a great job. Michael Cain plays a good counter point, and makes Cage's character more bearable.

The piece is funny, in a chuckle kind of way, with lots of sad undertone. It's quietly entertaining, but won't really make you notice.

If you want to see something different, you might want to try this.

I saw a screening of this tonight, and I was very impressed. I expected a rather shallow comedy, but instead, received a well-thought out and delivered work which was insightful, quirky, funny and touching film which was far above my expectations. Cage delivers a great performance as usual, and the father-son relationship between Cage and Caine was authentic and balanced. This is not just a comedy, but is a study of the importance of family, and an overlying existential questioning of what our lives are all about. I highly recommend it for men and women alike. On a side note... Verbinski's works are diverse, fun, and interesting, and this is no exception.

I can already tell that people are going to have very strong reactions to The Weather Man. People are either going to love it or hate it. They're going to find it shockingly hilarious or just plain shocking. I loved it and found it hilarious, but I'm not easily offended (I do a show with Jegar, how can anything offend me?). There were many instances where I was the only person laughing in the theater. For instance, Michael Caine, who plays Robert Spritz, tells his son David Spritz (played by Nicolas Cage) that David's daughter is getting teased at school and called "Camel Toe". Just to hear Sir Michael Caine use the expression "camel toe" is pretty unexpected. But then various shots of camel toes pop up on the screen to illustrate this phenomenon to anyone in the audience who's unfamiliar with the concept. I found it all absurdly hilarious, but I don't think many of the grey-haired audience shared my sentiments.

This movie was not at all like I was expecting. The Weather Man is crass and silly, but it's also extremely dark and sad. David Spritz is a sad, lonely man who's trying to reconcile with this ex-wife and get his family back together, but despite his best intentions, things just never work out the way he wants. More than anything, he wants to prove to his dying father that he can be a great man too, but time is running out. This is not your typical comedy. It's not easy to watch sometimes, but according to Robert Spritz, "Easy doesn't enter into grown-up life."