THE WEATHER MAN Reviewed by Harvey S. Karten
Paramount Pictures
Grade: B+
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Written by: Steven Conrad
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Gil Bellows,
Michael Rispoli, Gemmenne De La Pena, Nicholas Hoult
Screened at: Loews 34th St, NYC, 10/29/05 During the late sixties and early seventies, an extreme-left wing group called itself The Weather Underground. The implication is that “You don’t have to be a weather man to know which way the wind is blowing.” By a blowing wind, they meant metaphorically that America was becoming Green, a prediction that turned out about as accurately as a seven-day weather forecast. Looking at the current administration, the former members would obviously be stunned to find that just about every idealistic notion in their heads had blown away. In Gore Verbinski’s “The Weather Man,” adapted from Steven Conrad’s screenplay, the central figure actually is a weather man. The irony here is that not even a professional can safely foretell temperatures, precipitation, and wind speed more than a day ahead. Some people in Chicago were apparently so freaked out by inaccurate reports from a guy who does not even have a degree in meteorology, that they threw food at him–a falafel one day, a Slurpy soda another, even a McDonald’s hot apple pie. Or maybe they blamed him for the bad Chicago weather, which is like attacking a letter carrier for bringing nothing but bills. Nicolas Cage plays this TV Everyman, David Spritz, an ideal choice for his role as a guy whose marriage has fallen apart, whose daughter is obese and unhappy, whose ex-wife has completely shut off all chances of reconciliation. He has all the existential angst that typifies fellows disheartened by mid-life crisis and then some. Given the role and the overall downer ambience of the movie, you’d think that the pic says “indie” all over the place, despite its high budgeting, and should have been distributed by Paramount Classics rather than the mainstream studio. For an audience that does not need cheerful pablum or car chases, explosions, or psychological thrillers, director Verbinki’s project could be a hit. Given the nature of the mass movie audience, however, the title could be as uncertain as the weather man. We wonder how a guy with a Basset Hound’s hangdog expression (something that perhaps can’t be helped given Cage’s appearance) could get a job reading the weather in front of a green screen, a gig that pays $240,000 a year. This dude is an overachiever. In fact it would take a pretty lonely person to want to make up with a bitchy ex-wife like Noreen (Hope Davis), though he does have a good relationship with his aging dad, Robert Spritz (Michael Caine) who gives his son good advice based on experience, counsel that David seems unable to absorb. Dysfunction is responsible in a large way for David’s daughter’s misery, Shelly (Gemmenne De La Pena), maybe even for his 14-year-old son, Mike (Nicholas Hoult), who receives counseling for his marijuana habit from a counselor (Gil Bellows) who needs counseling more than Mike. Michael Caine’s performance is the best thing about the movie. He projects the character of the celebrated author that he is, whose abilities have not been transferred to his son. He is the most believable character in the show, the sort of dad that most of us wish we had and wish as well that we would follow his wise counsel–as David does not. In disgust for himself, a burned-out David has a favorite saying, “The wind blows all over the place,” a metaphorical thought if ever there was one, describing within an episodic plot the sturm und drang of this poor guy with a great, undeserved income. The film looks grand, photographer Phedon Papamichael exploiting the bitter chill of a Chicago winter and, in one case, a torrential rain that accompanies grief-stricken people at a funeral. Overall, this is the kind of film that feeds comfortably into the appetites of the serious film buff. Given its deliberately cloudy scenarios, “The Weatherman” is in no way like a cup of hot cocoa sipped against the raging light of a fireplace. Rated R. 100 minutes © 2005 by Harvey Karten
harveycritic@cs.com Member: NY Film Critics Online | 
