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I don't get this film. It could be the most
caustic and intense film since "American Beauty"
except for the fact that it has neither the
venom nor the intensity of that Oscar worthy
film. All it really has in common with it is
a pedophilic subplot that has neither the wit
nor the concentrated firepower of the Sam Mendes
film.
Nick Cage plays a TV weather man and that
job in and of itself allows the film to have
both an absurdity and a quirkiness that is inherent
in focusing on such a subject. He has two kids.
He's divorced. He's trying to get his shit together.
His father is dying of cancer. And while the
story line revolving around his chubby young
daughter trying to come to terms with adolescence
and the father's struggle to help her do so
is quite compelling and unique in this film,
nothing else is.
The ex-wife played by Hope Davis is your
typical bitch. Davis tries to do more with it
but she is barely successful. She's a great
actress but even she can't pull this character
out of the dumper. The dying father, played
by the ubiquitous Michael Caine, is equally
annoying. Seems like the only thing going on
here is an attempt to get the ageing actor to
say "sucking off" on film before he keels over.
But the worst is the story of the weather man's
teenage son who becomes involved in an Afterschool
Special of a plot about a creepy drug counselor
with more than sobriety on his mind. We see
his thinly veiled come-on's to the teen boy
quite easily because they are done in the most
typical and ludicrous of ways. We actually dislike
the teenage boy here because we think he must
be completely stupid to fall for the older man's
stereotypical traps. (If this kid is that dumb,
maybe he deserves what he gets!) At least Cage's
father is smart enough to tell him, "Don't put
yourself in adult situations until you are an
adult." In other words, don't go over to some
older guys house, strip to your skivvies and
strut around while he takes pictures of you
if you don't want a gay BJ you 'tard! Really.
Is this 1972?
"The Weather Man" isn't a horrible film,
mind you. Cage is always an interesting actor
to watch and there are some interesting ideas
going on in Steve Conrad's script here. It just
never seems to gel. Director Gore Verbinski
does a fine job here, but he seems a little
lost in the material. Maybe he was too busy
getting his notes together for "Pirates of the
Caribbean 2" to really concentrate on this film.
There are some sort of messages offered
up here like, "Life is shit," and "There's always
something that needs looking after," but such
platitudes seem hokey and contrived in a film
that has set its sites quite obviously much
higher than presenting only this folksy wisdom.
Sadly, it seems, when it comes to the message
here, the arrow gets lost on the way to the
target.
Notes:
Also with Michael Rispoli, Gil Bellows
and Nicholas Hoult.
Since this is a movie about a TV weatherman,
Bryant Gumbel, Ed McMahon, and Wolfgang Puck
appear here. Gumbel says a swear word. I think
it was "shit."
Elton John is mentioned and Bob Seger's
"Like a Rock" is important to the plot.
The score by Hans Zimmer is quite good.
Shot in Chicago.
Viewed in Austin in November of 2005.
Report Card
Script: B-
Acting: A-
Cinematography\Lighting: B-
Special Effects\Make Up: B
Music: A+
Final Grade: B-
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