Movie Review: The Weather Man

The Weather Man

There were a number of movies available to me this weekend, several of which I wanted to see. With the time to see only one, however, I had to make a choice. My criteria were twofold: Which of the new releases was getting the best reviews (or at least not the worst)? And, being both tired and not feeling particularly well, which was the shortest? The Weather Man filled the bill on both counts, and so I elected to buy my tickets accordingly. Whether or not the criteria was actually more sensible than it sounds here or I got lucky, the fact remains: The Weather Man is a pretty good movie.

David Spritz (Nicolas Cage) is an up and coming weather man in Chicago. He enjoys his work, taking particular pride in his "green screen" abilities. He's good enough that a major New York morning show has extended him an invitation to audition. But even that success isn't, in David's eyes, even close to measuring up to those of his father. Robert Spritzel (Michael Caine) — David has shortened his name for TV — is an author with numerous prizes to his credit, including a Pulitzer. David is constantly trying to measure up; the elder Spritzel is consistently oblivious and critical.

Whether David will admit his professional successes to himself or not, there's one thing everyone can agree on: His personal life is in a shambles. He's divorced from a woman he still loves (Noreen, played by Hope Davis); his 15 year-old son may or may not be a juvenile delinquent (Mike, played by Nicholas Hoult); his 12 year-old daughter is sullen and overweight (Shelly, played by Gemmenne de la Pena); and the chubby and obsequious Russ (Michael Rispoll) is dating his ex-wife and horning in on his family.

David does all he can to get closer to both his father and his son. He conscientiously tries to bring Shelly out of her shell. He even wants to attempt a reconciliation with his wife. But when Mike's rehab counselor, Don (Gil Bellows) starts cozying up to David's son, and at the same time the elder Spritzel experiences a health crisis, David doesn't know what to do next. Predictably, whatever he does doesn't work out quite the way he hopes.

Nicolas Cage has long been one of my favorite actors. He tends to choose quirky roles, and they're perfect for him. David Spritz is no exception. Hope Davis and Michael Rispoll are fine in limited roles; Gil Bellows is more than a little surprising as a counselor who may or may not have a dark side. Michael Caine, of course, is spot on as a distant father who isn't really cold; he just isn't quite sure how to get along with a son who's so dramatically different from him and his own lifestyle and desires. The children, too, acquit themselves well, most notable Gemmenne de la Pena who's both heart-wrenching and funny to watch.

The Weather Man is, surprisingly, directed by Gore Verbinski (best known for the mega-hit Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl). That may, in fact, be the only misstep in the film. Verbinski does a perfectly fine job, but it's impossible not to wonder if perhaps a more artistic director could have wrung more out of the film than a man best known for his action direction. Meanwhile, I can't imagine even a bad director being able to completely ruin a movie that has such a stellar script as does The Weather Man.

Those of you who read these reviews regularly know that I'm a big Charlie Kaufman fan (he wrote Adaptation and The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, among other things). And until I saw the closing credits, I actually thought that The Weather Man might be an understated Kaufman effort. It isn't. The writer is Steven Conrad who, with this film, has set himself a very high bar indeed.

The Weather Man is filled with dark humor and wrenching drama; it's riddled with the quirks and foibles that every man (and woman) has, but that few exhibit to any but their closest friends and family. To write such a script is nothing short of terrific; to get someone like Nicolas Cage to headline the resulting film is singularly appropriate. The movie is dry, to be sure, and deceptively matter-of-fact. It's not going to be everybody's cup of tea. But for those who like this sort of thing, The Weather Man is a real jewel in a fall movie schedule filled almost entirely with Oscar™ hopefuls and mass-appeal action films.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: The Weather Man is rated R for "strong language and sexual content." Frankly, I think that there are some things here that younger teens could benefit from seeing, not the least of which are the attempts of two fathers to better know and relate to their children. If you've got teens who appreciate dry humor and melodramatic situations, The Weather Man isn't a bad suggestion for the whole family. I'd suggest this movie for those of about age 14 and up. Meanwhile, for the true movie aficionado, there's much to recommend The Weather Man, not least of which is that wholly wonderful script!