A Review by Phil Calabro
2005, Paramount Pictures/Escape Artists, Dir. Gore Verbinski - Starring Nicolas Cage, Hope Davis, Michael Caine, Gemmenne de la Peña, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Rispoli, Gil Bellows, Judith McConnell, Chris Marrs, Dina Facklis, DeAnna N.J. Brooks, Sia A. Moody
Let me begin this review with a brief rant. Why is it that critics and audiences seem to find a problem with big-time Hollywood producing an offbeat and quirky movie? Why should these movies only be subjected to art house venues, and not be allowed some sort of publicity? There's a flaw in this argument, and I feel it's just another cheap excuse buried over the consensus hatred of Nic Cage as an actor. His sad-sack tone of voice and droopy visage only accentuate his character for the audience, and his goofy mishaps are taken for outré outtakes. I liked this movie, yes, but only to a degree. Sure, it's funny in that 'Sideways' style that mimics real life and plants social tension in the characters' veins, but is that necessarily a bad thing? 'The Weather Man' is a thoughtful, provoking, and eccentric little film - not as satiric as 'Lord of War', not as believable as 'Sideways', but somewhere in the middle.
Dave Spritzer (Cage) is a Chicago weatherman, but there's more to him than his job. When he's not standing in front of a green screen swinging his arms back and forth with a chummy grin on his face, he's at home dealing with his broken family. He's divorced from his wife Noreen (Davis), who's found solace in her new intrusive boyfriend Russ (Rispoli). His older son Mike (Hoult) is finishing up rehab for pot addiction, and his overweight daughter Shelly (de la Peña) is being bullied around for her weight and has also picked up smoking. Dave has been offered an audition for a big buzz morning show in New York that would offer him millions, so he hopes to sort out all his problems with the family, and move them all to the Big Apple to live a long happy life. But nothing really works out for Dave Spritz (his weather name), as he must live in the shadows of his Pultizer Prize winning father Robert (Caine), and deal with the angry public as he is berated by Big Gulps just for predicting the weather.
I want to award an Oscar to Nic Cage's agent, as he continually finds the pitch perfect roles for one of my favorite current actors. Cage slides in Dave Spritzer's shoes like they were mocassins - his dry narration carries the audience along a river of troubles and worries, as he slowly but surely picks up the pieces of his life to make the most of it. He predicts the weather and reads it - not that hard, right? But for Dave, it's trying to predict his future and put it together the way he wants to. His intentions are strong, but his efforts are faltering. This inner conflict only heightens the tensions among his family members. Hope Davis is sweet but peeved as Norren Spritzer, as she just can't take Dave's shallow behavior. For all we know, she wants Dave completely out of her life, but not the kids'. Her character doesn't go much farther than a metaphorical brick wall for the movie, but the role is essential and well-played. Michael Caine is the least enjoyable character of the movie, as his unsympathetic nature only leaves the audience to digress from him. Instead of being a kindly old father figure, he is portrayed as a dad who just has no regard for what Dave does. To some he may just be unconventional, to me he's just mean-spirited.
There is one big flaw in this movie, and it affects the whole concept. From what I've told you so far, Dave makes a lot of mistakes, and he ends up jeopardizing his familial relationships through it. But how do you define these mistakes? Instead, writer Steve Conrad makes a bad turn, and misconstrues Dave's accidents for mistakes, which is a sure-fire way for us to pity the title character rather than to hope he actually changes. Nature seems to be out to get Dave Spritz, and there's nothing we can do but watch as his mishaps continue to unfold - from getting a newspaper, to a coffee, to giving a eulogy at a funeral. These aren't convincing enough, and put a really bad taste in my mouth. Mind you, this doesn't persist throughout the movie, but they do happen occasionally. You can't start a domino effect and assume responsibility for kicking down each domino individually. Somethings you can't control. Like the weather, persay?
Regardless, 'The Weather Man' is a good-hearted movie, notwithstanding it's very bitter. Life is like the weather, you'll have your clouds, you'll have your rain, but you've got to keep reminding yourself that once the storm has past, the sun will shine through. Dave Spritzer does find that rainbow, and it brightened my day.
