Every once in a while, a film captures an audience by its continuous stream of “downs” that there is seemingly no way possible for there to be any sort of “up” in it whatsoever. Then within those numerous “downs”, the one “up,” which just so happens to be the only important matter of the entire movie, is stumbled upon, Nicholas Cage found it between a fire truck and Spongebob Square Pants, and I found it through watching Cage’s newest dramedy “The Weather Man.” A brief synopsis of the plot is focused around a weatherman for a Chicago news station, Dave Spritz (Nicholas Cage), who is finding life as a divorced, troubled weather man dissatisfying. Besides having an ex-wife (Hope Davis) in a relationship with another man, two children with their fair share of interesting problems, and a dying father (Michael Caine), Spritz has a lot more on his mind than today’s high. As he begins to reconnect with his children and fails to reconnect with his ex-wife, Spirtz is offered a huge career opportunity in New York City on an upcoming morning show, “Hello, America!” After juggling life issues and receiving his new job in New York, Cage begins to reevaluate the meaning of life and its inability to be predictable.
The script was extremely smart and Nicholas Cage did an excellent job. I adore Michael Caine in all that he does; I just wish he wouldn’t have slipped from his fake American to his actual English accent so frequently. He simply couldn’t make up his mind, but he’s too loveable to mind, especially when playing an ailing father figure. Nicholas Hoult, who was last seen as Hugh Grant’s little buddy in “About a Boy,” has grown up quite a bit and plays Cage’s son, Matt. A new face to the silver screen, Gemmenne de la Pena, plays Cage’s daughter. Both child actors do a great job as well, interpreting broken-home issues into real-life solutions throughout the film. And honestly, who could deny the reoccurring theme of Spritz constantly having fast food items like Frosty’s, McNuggets and tacos thrown at him? This comic relief gave this dark comedy a bit of a light-hearted feel which no one can complain about. Despite the movie’s dark humor, “The Weather Man” was absolutely perfect for this time of year. Holidays are setting in and it’s a time for all of us, even college kids, to think about family and not so much of ourselves. This heartfelt yet hysterical film put me in the holiday frame of mind. It also was uplifting in the sense that things go wrongand not the way any of us plan them to be sometimes, but you can still make the best out of it and revive happiness where it was once dead. Other critics have given ‘The Weather Man” a mere “B” rating.
I believe this movie deserves much more than that. I definitely give it an “A.” It was funny, never dull, the acting was choice, the different surface and symbolic themes throughout the film gave it a sort of artistic grace, it was shot beautifully — what’s not to like? And besides, everyone knows Nicholas Cage is a lot better in comedy-driven movies than serious/action flicks, so there shouldn’t even be any doubts about him! I highly recommend it as a movie-date with mom or dad, but don’t bring any younger siblings; the language can get a little intense. This weatherman’s forecast is, without a doubt, looking good.