THE WEATHER MAN 
Starring:
Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Gemmenne de la Peņa, Nicholas Hoult,
Michael Rispoli and Gil Bellows
Director:
Gore Verbinski
Running Time:
101 mins
Out to buy on DVD 24/07/06
"People throw things at me"
Chicago weather man David Spritz (Cage) is divorced, struggling to connect with his kids, failing to get out of his famous father's shadow and falling apart at the seems. The one thing he does well is read the weather, a fact that national TV has noticed. While he might be good in front of the camera, he doesn't always get the weather right, a fact that some people in Chicago keep reminding him of by throwing things at him and telling him he sucks. As everything starts to build up, David really needs to change something before it all falls apart. All he has to do is figure out what.
A director of huge Hollywood hits, Gore Verbinski gets the chance to helm a character driven piece but can he cope without all the visual effects and grandeur?
With a back catalogue that includes 'Mousehunt', 'The Ring', 'The Mexican' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean', the director has made a name for himself with high concept movies but 'The Weather Man' is very different. Dealing with a crisis of confidence, the premise of the movie is completely unlike anything he has ever done before and unfortunately, in parts, it shows.
A mixture of quirky, black comedy and family drama, 'The Weather Man' suffers from not really knowing what it wants to be. It tries desperately to draw influences from low budget, indie flicks but instead the film is just pale imitation. The premise itself is good however and there are many moments of quality drama and humorous comedy but this family drama is missing the emotional punch that most indie flicks in this genre have in spades.
The problems occur when the film tries to be quirky. These storylines and subplots are a combination of flashbacks and daydreams that are supposed to offer is an insight into David's mind but they just seem to be desperate attempts to inject more comedy. The camel-toe story is a classic example and is slightly embarrassing for the film and the actors involved.
The highlight of the film however is the quality of the cast. Nicolas Cage is an actor who enjoys varying the type of roles he wants to play. As David Spritz he creates a suitably neurotic character that thinks the world is against him and one thing can sort his life out. Cage is better when he plays these types of roles than when he plays the big action heroes as it gives him the chance to prove that his Oscar wasn't a fluke. Bringing some class to the production is Sir Michael Caine. The veteran actor eats up the screen every time he graces it as David's father Robert. Hope Davis continues to be the actress of choice in character driven pieces as the weatherman's ex-wife Noreen. There are also good performances from the young performers Gemmenne de la Peņa and Nicholas Hoult as David's kids Shelly and Mike.
'The Weather Man' is a strange movie that really doesn't know what it wants to be. The mixture of black comedy and drama the mix is never quite right. There is enough here to enjoy however and the performances from ensemble cast make it all the more watchable, making it more like light drizzle than a downpour of laughs.
PICTURE & SOUND
Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well.
BONUS FEATURES
Extended Outlook: The Script (10.07 mins)
Director Gore Verbinski, producer Todd Black, writer Steve Conrad and star
Nicolas Cage talk about this different kind of story to the silver screen.
They talk about the structure of the film and they give their thoughts about
the movie, highlighting the themes and characters of the piece.
Forecast: Becoming a Weatherman (5.43 mins)
Director Gore Verbinski, producer Todd Black, writer Steve Conrad, meteorological
technical advisor Tom Skilling and star Nicolas Cage talk about the real life
stories of a Chicago weatherman. We also see how Nicolas Cage coped with doing
an actual forecast.
Atmospheric Pressure: The Style and Palette (9.22 mins)
Director Gore Verbinski, director of photography Phedon Papamichael and production
designer Tom Durfield talk about the look and style of the movie, highlighting
the palette and Chicago.
Relative Humidity: The Characters (19.43 mins)
Director Gore Verbinski and stars Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis,
Michael Rispoli, Nicholas Hoult and Gemmenne de la Peņa talk about the characters
and their relationships.
Trade Winds: The Collaboration (15.39 mins)
Director Gore Verbinski, editor Craig Wool, director of photography Phedon
Papamichael, producer Todd Black, costume designer Penny Rose and composer
Hans Zimmer talk about the cast and crew and structuring the film to complete
the vision. We also here about the look of the characters and how the music
and score complemented the story.
Theatrical Trailer (2.24 mins)
Watch the preview trailer for the movie
Trailers
Watch previews of 'Prime' and 'Relative Strangers'
OVERALL
Filled with featurettes that cover most of the aspects of the film's production, the DVD package for 'The Weatherman' is pretty good. The absence of a commentary track is a shame but fans of the film should be pleased.
DVD
