Chicago weatherman Dave Spritz (Nicolas Cage) has a shot at the big time - a national morning TV show - if he can only get his personal life together!
(26 votes)
2.
Nobody does comic existential angst like Nicolas Cage, who gets a good workout in The Weather Man, an underrated slice of quiet desperation. Cage plays David Spritz, a Chicago TV meteorologist who knows only too well the constant uncertainty of predicting the weather. Despite a possible offer from a network morning show, David's life is a mess: he's estranged from his kids and irritated wife (Hope Davis), he's perpetually at odds with his remote father (Michael Caine), and lately people on the street have had the disconcerting habit of throwing food at him. Director Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean) has perhaps too heavy a touch for this kind of comic melancholy, but screenwriter Steven Conrad has an interesting, almost Mamet-like ear for "written" dialogue--Cage has a few voiceover monologues, including an uproarious sequence involving tartar sauce and a walk to the store, that are hugely funny. It's possible that we've seen Cage in this kind of character one too many times, but he's still good at it, and his doleful face and pasted-on smile fit the mood of the picture. Unlike the heroes of most Hollywood movies, David Spritz doesn't always--or often--do the right thing, but Cage makes you want to see the poor sap make it. --Robert Horton
(20 votes)
3.
IN THEATERS OCTOBER 28, 2005:
Nicholas Cage stars in this dramatic comedy from director Gore Verbinski (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL), once again playing a handsome bachelor in a post mid-life crisis (ADAPTATION, THE FAMILY MAN, MATCHSTICK MEN). The son of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Spritz (Michael Caine), David Spritz (Cage) is a successful Chicago weatherman who for reasons beyond his understanding, frequently gets fast-food thrown at him on the street. Could the reason for this be that David's job, though lucrative, requires little exertion, allowing him to occupy what even he admits is a relatively easy existence? Living in the shadow of his father's greatness, and in the wake of a recent marital separation, David messily struggles to impress his father, reconnect to his estranged wife (Hope Davis), and save his troubled kids (Gemmenne de la Peña, Nicholas Hoult), all while trying to land a coveted job in New York. David's efforts to reach and protect his kids feel realistic in that they are heartfelt, but not always successful. Likewise, David's marriage contains tangible flaws that reveal themselves in interesting ways.
THE WEATHER MAN contains just as much sadness as it does comedy, and does a good job of finding one in the other. Some of the film's most heartbreaking scenes are also the funniest, the best example of this being when David learns that his daughter is being called "Camel-toe" at school. Each time Cage's clueless and vulnerable David gets hit with a burrito, milk shake, or McDonald's apple pie, we genuinely feel for the guy. Through increasingly insightful voiceovers, viewers are taken on David's journey from the lazy desire for things to be easy to the hard realization that things never are, and as David's wise father says early on in the film: life without struggle is meaningless.
(18 votes)
4.
Meet David Spritz (Nicolas Cage), Chicago’s local weatherman for WCH, Channel 6. For many, he’s more than just someone who forecasts sun, rain, sleet or snow — he’s a moving target. Pelted on a regular basis with soda pop, malts and fast food by jealous fans, many of whom have a curious love-hate relationship with him, David wants nothing more than respect... especially from his father, prize-winning author Robert Spritzel (Michael Caine). He also wants his estranged wife Noreen (Hope Davis) to love him again, his daughter (Gemmenne De Ia Pefia) to be happy, and son (Nicholas Hoult) to stay out of trouble. On top of that, David wouldn’t mind mastering archery.
But although David’s life is full of inner turmoil, on the outside the weatherman with the winning smile and onscreen charm appears to be pretty much under control. Even the producers of the prestigious New York-based “Hello America,” hosted by Bryant Gumbel (portraying himself), have noticed his work and want him to audition for their syndicated national morning show. Still, no amazing career opportunity seems to be stopping David’s personal life from going into a skid, and much like the tornadoes he predicts, he could be headed for a path of destruction.
(13 votes)
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