The Weather Man
THE WEATHER MAN (15)
D: Gore Verbinski
Paramount/Escape Artists (Todd Black, Steve Tisch &
Jason Blumenthal)
US/Germany 2005
101 mins
Comedy/Drama
W: Steven Conrad
DP: Phedon Papamichael
Ed: Craig Wood
Mus: Hans Zimmer
Nicolas Cage (Dave Spritz(el)), Michael Caine (Robert
Spritzel) Hope Davis (Noreen Spritzel), Gil Bellows (Don Bowden), Gemmenne de la Pena (Shelly Spritzel), Nicholas Hoult (Mike Spritzel)
Like the weather itself, The Weather Man can't seem to
make up it's mind what it wants to be. Comedy? Drama? Black Comedy? A mix of all three?... Perhaps it's the wrong choice of director that leaves this film without a true
identity.
Nicolas Cage plays a depression-angst weather man whose
personal life has fallen apart, his ex-wife is remarrying, his teenage son has a drug problem and his young daughter is overweight. Even the relationship he has with his father is in peril
after the latter discovers he has lymphoma.
The most enjoyable moments come in the scenes Cage shares with Michael Caine, but aside from this it's all a bit of a mess. Cage tries to balance his role between morose and self-effacing, but his character is hugely pathetic for much of the running time. Overall, the forecast is rather gloomy.
5/10
