The Weather Man (Widescreen Edition)
by Gore Verbinski
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DVD details
Actor: Gemmenne de la Peņa, Hope Davis, Michael Caine, Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas CageDirector: Gore Verbinski
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Producer: David Alper
Producer: Jason Blumenthal
Producer: Norman Golightly
Producer: Steve Conrad
Writer: Steve Conrad
Producer: Steve Tisch
Producer: Todd Black
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
Published: 2006-02-01
DVD Release Date: 2006-02-21
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Paramount
Product features:
- Actors: Nicolas Cage, Hope Davis, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Caine, Gemmenne de la Peņa.
- Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC.
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1). Subtitles: English, Spanish.+
- Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
- Run Time: 102 minutes. Rated R.
DVD Reviews of The Weather Man (Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: Better than you might think
Summary: 4 Stars
Having watched The Weather Man twice this past week, I can see why so many people have criticized this movie in such a vitriolic fashion: there's little plot to speak of, and the protagonist is rarely likeable, and the tone is frequently dreary and depressing even during the comedic moments. But, in the end, this movie really isn't about being light or pleasant, or even about plot development; if you want an unchallenging comedy with a clearly delineated plot, watch Wedding Crashers. What the Weather Man is is a contemplative, stylishly-shot deadpan comedy that portrays upper-middle class alienation at its most quietly stultifying. Even as I laughed at it, I found a certain undercurrent of desperation and depression in this movie, sort of like a darker, more angst-ridden version of Office Space. Nicolas Cage is, well, Nicolas Cage, playing the sort of role he was born to play as Dave Spritz, a Chicago weather man (not to be confused with a meteorologist) whose job has made him rich but who seemingly can't overcome his various hangups and neuroses.
Conveying the same sort of moral weakness and social anxiety he made so memorable in Adaptation and Lord of War, Cage manages to make Dave somewhat sympathetic in spite of the glaring flaws in his character. Dave's actually got a lot going on in his mind, but it doesn't translate into an ability to express himself clearly or relate to other people in any sort of meaningful way. His efforts to connect with his overweight daughter are noble but frequently misguided; he botches a shot at a reconciliation with his ex-wife when he violates her trust; and he can't even insult his ex's white-collar shlub of a boyfriend without sounding like an idiot in the process. Basically, he's a phony, and he knows it, and knows other people know it: he gets paid a six-figure salary for an easy job that contributes little to society, but at the same time he's had to trade in his self-respect. He's in the uncomfortable situation of being a public figure who can't relate to the public, as we see in his highly unpleasant interactions with viewers, and (in a hilarious running joke) the vacuity of his job has made him a citywide target for fast food-tossing passersby. Throughout the movie, little indignities pile up, only adding to Dave's increasing frustration with his emotionally stunted existence.
As the movie opens, Dave's relationships with his whole family--his self-rightheous ex-wife, his overweight daughter, his mildly troubled son, and his prize-winning novelist of a father-are strained to varying degrees, while Dave tries to get a national-level job that he thinks will solve all his family problems but which probably won't. Some of the scenes involving Dave's family life feel rushed and half-developed, but his complicated bond with his dying father, Robert King Spritzel (Michael Caine) is more than strong enough to carry the movie, as the script manages to wring a lot of offbeat humor and a few affecting moments from the interactions of a father and son who don't seem to have anything in common apart from genes. Caine has been underused in some mediocre and downright weak movies these past few years--The Cider House Rules, Miss Congeniality, and the dreadful Batman Begins come to mind--but here his cool demeanor makes him the perfect straight man for the movie's unlikely comic duo. Dave's father is everything Dave hoped to be but isn't--self-assured, dignified, respected--and he inhabits a completely different moral and intellectual plane that Dave clearly aspires to but will probably never reach. Robert doesn't regard Dave with anger or contempt so much as befuddlement, as though he doesn't quite understand how his son ended up turning into this guy.
While the movie may be somewhat aimless and meandering, its fairly short running time, dry sense of humor, and Gore Verbinski's directorial flair are more than enough to keep it from ever getting truly boring. Verbinski has an interesting visual style, embellishing the cinematography with lots of nice, expansive shots of Chicago in winter. The movie also occasionally cuts away from the narrative for snapshots ranging from a random guy expressing his hatred for Dave as he watches the weather forecast, to Dave enjoying some meaningless sex with a beer girl, to a hilariously vivid illustration of where Dave's daughter's nickname (which I probably can't repeat here) comes from. These little asides certainly don't add much to the plot, but it's these little things that let us know what kind of world Dave lives in and really add to the whole atmosphere of cynicism that pervades the movie.
We do see Dave gaining some measure of redemption and contentment at the end, although there's no telling how long that will last. Still, watching the evolution of his character over the course of the movie as he confronts himself and the life he's lived helps The Weather Man become more than just another deadpan comedy. I'm not going to say this is the best movie ever, or even of last year, because it definitely isn't. It is, however, an intriguing departure from the increasingly mediocre norm for Hollywood movies. Definitely worth a watch or two.
Description of The Weather Man (Widescreen Edition)
DAVE SPRITZ IS A LOCAL WEATHERMAN IN HIS HOMETOWN OF CHICAGO, WHERE HIS CAREER IS GOING WELL WHILE HIS PERSONAL LIFE - IS SPIRALING DOWNWARD. AN ATTRACTIVE JOB OFFER PRESENTS DAVE WITHA MAJOR QUESTION: TO PURSUE HIS CAREER IN NEW YORK CITY ORREMAIN AT HOME WITH HIS FAMILY.Bestsellers in DVD
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