The Weather Man
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| The Weather Man | |
|---|---|
 The international promotional poster for The Weather Man |
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| Directed by | Gore Verbinski |
| Produced by | Todd Black Jason Blumenthal Steve Tisch |
| Written by | Steven Conrad |
| Starring | Nicolas Cage Michael Caine Hope Davis |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 28, 2005 (Theatres) February 21, 2006 (DVD) |
| Running time | 101 mins |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
"Weather man" and "Weather Man" redirect here. For other uses see weatherman.
The Weather Man is a 2005 American comedy-drama film, starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine, about David Spritz (Cage), a very successful weatherman on a Chicago news program, who is seen by both others and himself as a failure in all areas of life outside his career. The film is directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Steven Conrad, and grossed a total of $12.2 million in the domestic box office.
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[edit] Plot
Chicago weatherman David Spritz (Nicolas Cage) spends his time in a daze. He is often unlucky.
His job is well-paying, but he finds it unsatisfactory that it doesn't require much except to speak and point, and the weather forecasts he reads are often inaccurate. Also, he's a local celebrity, but his fans are not kind to Dave, of which many expect him to live up to his celebrity status instead of realizing he's just a human being like everyone else; once every few months people throw fast food at him. In the course of time this happens nine times, and about four of which in the time period are depicted in the film, the rest in flashback.
As for his home life, he is separated from his wife Noreen (Hope Davis) with the possibility of either reconciliation or divorce. He is very rude to her new lover Russ (Michael Rispoli).
Dave feels inferior to his very successful father Robert Spritzel (Michael Caine), a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Robert has lymphoma and only a few months to live; he deals with that in a quiet, dignified manner. Dave accompanies him to hospitals. Robert is concerned about the oddities and problems of Dave, Dave's children, and Dave's relation with his wife.
Dave has a 12-year-old daughter Shelly (Gemmenne de la Peña) who smokes and is teased by her classmates, who call her "camel toe" because her genitals show through her tight clothing. For this reason Dave buys dresses for her. While picking up Shelly from her dance lessons, Spritz flashes back to expensive archery lessons, which his daughter quickly lost interest in.
Dave also has a 15-year-old son Mike (Nicholas Hoult) who has had some trouble with the law concerning drug use. Mike is creepily befriended by his rehab counselor Don (Gil Bellows), who is very generous. However, it is suggested that Don has a pedophile interest in Mike. Don suggests that he makes photos of Mike from time to time to document his progress in bodybuilding. Mike agrees, and allows Don to take photos of him with his shirt off. However, on another occasion they have a fight (not shown in the film, only reported).
Robert claims that Don wanted to perform oral sex on Mike. Don claims that Mike wanted to steal his wallet. Although Dave is interested in Mike's well-being, he does not even let Russ finish his account, and slaps him in the face with his gloves, apparently because he cannot stand that Russ is now the person dealing with Mike's problems. Later Dave beats up Don and throws evidence at him that proves Don's guilt, which is a sweater Don bought for Mike. Concerned about Don pressing charges against him, Mike is relieved to find out from his father that he shouldn't worry, particularly after Dave's violent confrontation. Robert also approves of Dave's action.
There is a living funeral for Robert. Due to a power failure Dave's speech is aborted after only saying: "When I think of my dad, I think of Bob Seger's Like a Rock." Later Robert plays the classic rock track and asks Dave to explain his remark. Dave explains that Robert has always been strong and stands "proud and tall, high above it all", as in the Bob Seger song "Like a Rock".
Dave is offered a place on a nationwide morning television show starring Bryant Gumbel that requires a move to New York City. He hesitates, since he would be far away from Noreen and their children, unless the family is reunited, and they also move to New York. However, Noreen is going to marry Russ. Dave accepts the job. Robert dies. Dave's former resentment for his fans, a reflection of his own low self-esteem, has gone away now that he has gained his father's approval and learned to accept and be happy with his life. People do not throw things at him anymore. He assumes this may be a pleasant side-effect of his archery hobby, for which he carries a bow around.
The film ends with a real parade scene, in which Dave rides on a float with Gumbel and other morning show castmembers. He notes how he's behind the NYC firemen, but ahead of SpongeBob Squarepants. He is satisfied with this and his "American accomplishment." The film ends with a close-up of Dave waving as he says, through narration, "Hello America."
[edit] Cast
- Nicolas Cage as David Spritz
- Michael Caine as Robert Spritzel
- Hope Davis as Noreen, David's ex-wife
- Gemmenne de la Peña as Shelly, Dave's daughter
- Nicholas Hoult as Mike, Dave's son
- Michael Rispoli as Russ, Noreen's new husband
- Gil Bellows as Don
- Judith McConnell as Lauren
[edit] Reception
The Weather Man received mixed reviews gaining an overall score of 60 on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. The most positive review of the film perhaps came from Roger Ebert, who gave the film three and a half stars.
[edit] Trivia
- Tom Skilling, the actual weatherman for WGN News from Chicago, has a cameo.
