The Weather Man (2005).

[Neville]

Either Nicolas Cage is a workaholic or I have an unexplained tendency to find him everywhere I look. Anyway, I felt like watching something different than usual and I rented this film, a sort of sad comedy or light-hearted drame, if such things even exist.

The film deals with the situation of David Spritz (guess who), a weather man in a local TV station who seems to fail at everything he does depite trying his best. His relationship with his stranged wife is a disaster, his teenage children get in all sort of troubles, and he feels overshadowed by his father, a distant novelist (Michael Caine) who seems to have trouble understanding his son's modern lifestyle.

It's a lovely film. The writer and the director have found just the right pitch for the story, Dramatic things happen, but the film shows them with a respectul distance, while other situations, such as Pritz getting bombarded with fast food by both fans and haters, would have an inequivocal comedic value if Pritz's character wasn't too human for that. All in all, both the light and sad events that plague the film end up in a kind of nobody's land, which is for the better.

Oh, and both Nic Cage and Michael Caine are superb.

Highlights: Michael Caine trying to explain his son what a camel toe is, Pritz getting hit by "a Frosty from Wendy's".

[Ash]

I still haven't seen this yet.
Everytime I go to the video store I pass by it on the shelf and never rent it.
Probably because my parents watched it and told me they hated it.

I shouldn't take them too seriously though, they thought "Last Man Standing" and "Fargo" were two of the worst movies they'd ever seen.

One of these days I'll check it out.

[Yaddo 42]

It seemed to polarize critics and viewers, but it was mostly ignored in the US. Count me in the haven't seen it because I didn't know what to make of the wide split in opinions of it. May pick it up next time I load up on renting films that have left the new release section and get marked down.

I give Cage credit for trying offbeat films and roles, like this and Lord of War. But when he picks a bad film he really picks one, like Snake Eyes or the Gone In 60 Seconds remake. He is a better actor than the mannerisms and tics he has a tendency to pass off as a performance in some films. But he can also overreach like that pathetic accent he did in Con Air.

[Neville]

As I said, the tone is very peculiar. It's not a film for everyone, but if you can understand the character's troubles it's a great movie.

[trekgeezer]

To me the film was about accepting who you are. Cage's character finally has to realize that he can't live up to his father's expectations or anyone elses and that he shouldn't have to. He finally has to look at his life and go with what he's good at.

I think Cage is an excellent actor. He plays sad, put upon characters very well. My favorite film with him is probably "Guarding Tess" with Shirley McClaine where he plays a beleaguered Secret Service agent in charge of guarding a ex-president's widow, who doesn't want to be guarded.

[Neville]

About Dave's father, I found interesting that despite Cage's assertions that his father was a good father there was this constant wall between them. Michael Caine's character also noticed, and his attempts to break this barrier, like reading Dave's novel or trying to decipher the song he's mentioned on his speech are both hysterical and heartbreaking.