DVD Reviews

The Weather Man

• Rating:
• Director: Gore Verbinski
• Starring: Hope Davis
• Details: US, 101mins, 16s.

Dave Spritz (Cage) is a Chicago-based TV weatherman going through a mid-life crisis. Not only is he trying to patch things up with his estranged wife (Davis), his 12-year-old daughter has the terrible nickname of 'camel toe' (a jibe at her tight pants), his drug-addicted 15-year-old son has a lecherous counsellor (Bellows), his sci-fi novel doesn't come up to scratch with his distant Pulitzer prize-winning writer father Robert (Caine), and he gets pelted in the streets with anything from chicken nuggets to burritos. Dave wanders from day to day, searching for something to believe in.
The Weather Man comes across like a Falling Down meets Broken Flowers as Cage's perpetual hangdog expression could easily be that of a younger Bill Murray. A slow-moving, sometimes plodding affair, The Weather Man resists the temptation to kick it up another gear and despite the odd injection of slapstick humour, it keeps the same mood and tone to the very end. Spritz is an ersatz version of Fight Club's Tyler Durden; a flawed character looking for someone or something to relate to, he is the product of a male generation in a society that renders men almost obsolete and devoid of purpose; but without the know-how or the guts to do anything about it, he is a more realistic, down to earth character. But as Tyler took his mantra to a bitter and bloody end, Spritz's defeatist climactic cop-out only forces home the point. Cage is faultless, as one can only guess the simmering anger going on in Spritz's subconscious as he tries to keep a level head and brave face on things. But it is Caine that is the real surprise here; his generous second-string performance never lapses into melodrama as he, like Cage, stays true to his character throughout.

Review by Gavin Burke