- IMDb page: The Weather Man (2005)
- Rate: 6.7/10 total 54,135 votes
- Genre: Comedy | Drama
- Release Date: 3 March 2006 (UK)
- Runtime: 102 min
- Filming Location: 333. N Canal St Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Budget: $22,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross: £860,440 (UK) (10 March 2006)
- Director: Gore Verbinski
- Stars: Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis | See full cast and crew
- Original Music By: James S. Levine (co-composer) (as James Levine) Hans Zimmer
- Soundtrack: Transitions
- Sound Mix: DTS | Dolby Digital
- Plot Keyword: Weatherman | New York City | Couples Therapy | Terminal Illness | Camel Toe
Known Trivia
- Nicolas Cage recorded all of the inner monologue at a local recording studio before shooting began. He was fed the audio on set.
- The "plastic" spoon stuck to Nicolas Cage's lapel was actually a metal spoon that had been painted to appear plastic and which was held in place with a magnet.
- The Naperville Central High School marching band was asked to be in that parade, and the song they are playing is their school's fight song.
- Despite Paramount Pictures suggesting that the production be shot in Canada, to substitute for Chicago, Gore Verbinski and Nicolas Cage both insisted that the film be shot in Chicago for authenticity.
- The food that hits Nicolas Cage throughout the film is thrown by director Gore Verbinski.
- Gore Verbinski plays guitar on Hans Zimmer's score.
- While shooting the film in February, director Gore Verbinski was surprised to find that the weather in Chicago was warm, as it didn't produce any snow. The production designers had to recreate snow from scratch, as the film takes place during the winter season.
- To complement the fast food theme, the McDonald's logo appears prominently on screen no less than nine times.
Goofs: Continuity: When David is talking to his father, after being hit by a Wendy's Frosty, the stain on his collar changes throughout their conversation.
Plot: A Chicago weather man, separated from his wife and children, debates whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive. Full summary » »
Story: Dave Spritz is a local weatherman in his home town of Chicago, where his career is going well while his personal life -- his relationship with his perfectionist writer father, his neurotic ex-wife, and his now-separated children -- is spiraling downward. Despite being both loathed and loved by the local masses, Dave is a guy who doesn't seem to have it all together, and in this film, he begins to feel it. An attractive job offer presents Dave with a major question: to pursue his career in New York City, or to remain at home with his family. Written bymystic80
Synopsis: A successful weatherman at a Chicago news program, David Spritz is well paid but garners little respect from people in the area who throw fast food at him, David suspects, because are resentful of how easy his high-paying job is. Dave also feels overshadowed by his father, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Spritzel, who is disappointed in Dave's apparent inability to grow up and deal with his two children. The situation worsens when Robert is diagnosed with lymphoma and given only a few months to live. As he becomes more and more depressed, Dave takes up archery, finding the activity a way to build his focus and calm his nerves.
To prove himself to his father and possibly reconcile with Noreen, his estranged wife, Dave pursues a weatherman position with a national talk show called Hello America. The job would nearly quadruple his salary, but means relocating to New York City. When Hello America invites him to New York, he takes his daughter with him and bonds with her by helping her shop for a more suitable wardrobe. While away, Dave learns that his son attacked his counselor, claiming that the man wanted to perform oral sex on him. Despite this stress and an all-night drinking binge, Dave impresses the Hello America interviewers and is eventually offered the job.
When he returns, Dave slaps Russ, Noreen's boyfriend, when he finds him dealing with his son's predicament. Dave later confronts the counselor at his home, beating him up and warning him that he is in store for worse.
The family holds a living funeral for Robert, in which Dave asks Noreen to reconcile and move to New York, but she has decided to marry Russ. Dave and Robert have one final talk, in which Dave breaks down in tears, unsure of his life's choices. Robert consoles him, telling him that he has time to "chuck" the garbage of his life. Robert dies soon after.
The film ends several months later, after Dave has accepted the job and moved to New York. People have ceased throwing things at him though, he muses, this may be a pleasant side-effect of his archery hobby, for which he carries a bow.
To prove himself to his father and possibly reconcile with Noreen, his estranged wife, Dave pursues a weatherman position with a national talk show called Hello America. The job would nearly quadruple his salary, but means relocating to New York City. When Hello America invites him to New York, he takes his daughter with him and bonds with her by helping her shop for a more suitable wardrobe. While away, Dave learns that his son attacked his counselor, claiming that the man wanted to perform oral sex on him. Despite this stress and an all-night drinking binge, Dave impresses the Hello America interviewers and is eventually offered the job.
When he returns, Dave slaps Russ, Noreen's boyfriend, when he finds him dealing with his son's predicament. Dave later confronts the counselor at his home, beating him up and warning him that he is in store for worse.
The family holds a living funeral for Robert, in which Dave asks Noreen to reconcile and move to New York, but she has decided to marry Russ. Dave and Robert have one final talk, in which Dave breaks down in tears, unsure of his life's choices. Robert consoles him, telling him that he has time to "chuck" the garbage of his life. Robert dies soon after.
The film ends several months later, after Dave has accepted the job and moved to New York. People have ceased throwing things at him though, he muses, this may be a pleasant side-effect of his archery hobby, for which he carries a bow.
Produced By:
- Nicolas Cage known as David Spritz
- Michael Caine known as Robert Spritzel
- Hope Davis known as Noreen
- Gemmenne de la Peña known as Shelly (as Gemmenne De La Peña)
- Nicholas Hoult known as Mike
- Michael Rispoli known as Russ
- Gil Bellows known as Don
- Judith McConnell known as Lauren
- Chris Marrs known as DMV Guy
- Dina Facklis known as Andrea
- J. Nicole Brooks known as Clerk (as Deanna NJ Brooks)
- Sia A. Moody known as Nurse (as Sia Moody)
- Guy Van Swearingen known as Nipper Guy
- Alejandro Pina known as Fast Food Employee
- Jackson Bubala known as Fast Food Child
- Jennifer Bills known as Fast Food Mom
- Peter Grosz known as Shelly's Archery Instructor
- Joe Bianchi known as Paul
- Nick Kuehneman known as Passenger with Frosty
- Bruce Jarchow known as Viewer
- Joanne Sylvestrak known as Viewer's Wife
- Robyn Moler known as Beer Girl
- John D. Milinac known as Beer Patron
- Melanie Decelles Castro known as Shelly's Companion
- Jason Wells known as Tim
- Scott Benjaminson known as Race Organizer
- Ora Jones known as Trust Counselor
- Mike Bacarella known as Takeout Clerk
- Jennifer Joan Taylor known as Register Worker
- Chuck Stubbings known as Mark Dersen
- Shanesia Davis-Williams known as Hello America Producer (as Shane Williams)
- Dan Flannery known as Hello America Producer
- Sandy Whiteley known as Hello America Director
- Antoine McKay known as Passing Pedestrian
- Eduardo N. Martinez known as Pie Thrower (as Eddie Martinez)
- David Darlow known as Robert's Friend
- Will Zahrn known as Priest
- Poorna Jagannathan known as NY Pedestrian
- Bryant Gumbel known as Himself
- Anne Marie Howard known as Co-Anchor
- Ed McMahon known as Himself
- Cristina Ferrare known as Herself
- Stephen Hilger known as Dave's Archery Instructor
- Ron McClary known as Guy in Park
- Eric Ambriz known as Elevator Kid
- Leah Rose Orleans known as Elevator Kid
- Juhong Xue known as Co-Anchor
- Tom Skilling known as WGN Assistant Director
- Wolfgang Puck known as Himself
- Monica Weaver known as Living Funeral Guest
- John Francis Mountain known as Living Funeral Guest
Production Companies:
- Paramount Pictures (presents)
- Escape Artists (presents)
- Kumar Mobiliengesellschaft mbH & Co. Projekt Nr. 2 KG (produced in association with)
- The Weather Man (uncredited)
- Atlantic Cine Equipment cranes and remote heads (uncredited)
- Canali selected wardrobe: Mr. Cage, provided by
- Central Casting extras casting
- Chicago Film Office, The the producers wish to thank
- Company 3 digital intermediate
- Hat Trick Catering caterer
- Illinois Film Office, The the producers wish to thank (as Illinois Film Board)
- Kodak motion picture film
- Mary Nelson-Fraser & Associates negative cutting (as Mary Nelson-Fraser and Associates)
- Movie Movers production trailers (uncredited)
- Movie Movers star trailers (uncredited)
- Movie Movers transportation (uncredited)
- Nickelodeon Network acknowledgement: "SpongeBob SquarePants" provided by (as Nickelodeon)
- Pacific Title titles
- Panavision cameras and lenses
- Paramount Studios digital sound editing (as Paramount Pictures)
- Reed Rigging rigging crew and equipment supplied by
- Scribner publisher: "On Death and Dying" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross courtesy of
- Sonoton Musik-Verlag music (uncredited)
- Paramount Pictures (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (a Viacom company)
- Sony Pictures Releasing (2006) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
- United International Pictures (UIP) (2005) (France) (theatrical)
- United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
- United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
- Argentina Video Home (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
- Argentina Video Home (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)
- Momentum Pictures (2005) (UK) (all media)
- Nordisk Film (2006) (Sweden) (DVD)
- Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
- Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
- Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
- United International Pictures (UIP) (2006) (Argentina) (all media)
Special Effects:
- Method Studios (visual effects) (as Method)
- Pacific Title and Art Studio (visual effects)
- Howard Anderson Company, The (visual effects) (as Howard Anderson Company)
- WSI Corporation (weather graphics animation)
- Full Scale Effects (special effects support)
Visual Effects by:
MPAA: Rated R for strong language and sexual content
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database
Greetings again from the darkness. So Close. This is painfully close tobeing a great film. Although still very good at presenting issuesnormally not seen on film, director Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of theCaribbean" "The Ring") falls just short of making a very powerfulstatement.
ReplyDeletePlease do not let the trailer fool you. This is not slapstick comedylike "Anchorman". This is deep, often dark subject matter addressingthe emotional struggles men face when dealing with a bad divorce,trying to maintain a relationship with kids, and the pressures oftrying to make one's own dad proud (or at least gain acceptance). Sooften Hollywood deals with the plight of the woman and her emotionalturmoil. Instead we are "treated" with watching a man's attempt to liveup to (what he thinks are) expectations of others and how somehow theright job will make everything OK ... his life will be whole.
Nicolas Cage gives another outstanding performance as "The Weather Man"on a Chicago TV station. To add to the complexity, he is not ameteorologist and he is being courted by a national morning talk showfeaturing Bryant Gumbel. Two areas with this character are poorlywritten in my opinion. First, Cage's hair weave is bloody awful. Atleast in Dallas, weather men all look like Televangelists with perfecthair. His is always askew ... don't they have hair/make-up staff inChicago? Second, the character is written as too much of a loser in allaspects. He is not just struggling, he is not someone any guy or girlwould want to hang with. The film tries, but fails, to show the"switch" come on when Cage steps in front of the camera. They tell usthis happens, but it needed to be presented much clearer.
Playing Cage's father, Michael Caine is a pretty intimidating figure ashe is confused about his son's direction in life while at the same timefacing a very dark future of his own. Caine is wonderful in the roleand when he tells his son "Sometimes in life, you just have to chuckit", we really get it and hope that Cage does as well.
On the other hand, Hope Davis is cast as yet another frigid "B" yuppiewhom I don't understand how any man could be attracted to. Yet somehowthis is the woman Cage wants back. Time to stretch your talent a bitHope. You showed plenty of promise in "About Schmidt" and have beenworking steadily since. But to take the next step as an actress, youneed to try a new character. Gil Bellows ("Aly McBeal") has a creepyrole as Cage's teenage son's counselor. He is responsible for some ofthe most uncomfortable moments as well as a way for Cage to finally cutloose.
As I said, this is a very good movie that falls just short ofgreatness. While providing insight into the male psyche, it fails todeliver the message or solution it seemed to be leading up to. However,it is nice to see a man portrayed as something other than a superhero,adulterer, international spy or Olympic caliber lover.
Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean X3, The Ring, The Mexican) hasan uncanny way of moving strange characters through bizarre plots whilemaintaining our interest and our empathy. THE WEATHER MAN was so poorlypromoted when it hit the theaters that it seemed like it was going tobe one of those asinine food throwing slapstick comedies instead of thevery serious examination of contemporary life in the big cities, oreven more about the struggle of a disillusioned man who cannot find abalance between business success and family/marital failure, it is.This viewer almost ignored it completely - until the DVD.
ReplyDeleteDavid Spritz (Nicholas Cage) is a TV pawn the station uses as aweatherman: he is untrained as a meteorologist, skilled only be his TVpersona success dependent on a created gag/tag line - the Nipper (thepeak worst day in the forecast). His personal life is a mess, separatedfrom a disconsolate wife Noreen (Hope Davis), distanced from hissuccessful writer father Robert (Michael Caine) and on shaky territorywith his two children - fat and sad Sully (Gemmenne de la Peña) andsweet but troubled pothead Mike (Nicholas Hoult). To make life worsehis TV persona follows him into the streets of blustery Chicago wherehis viewers either seek autographs invading his privacy or throw foodat him as the progenitor of the lousy cold weather. This polarizedexistence is invaded by an offer to become weatherman on Bryan Gumbel'sHello America show in New York (a career jump for which he longs formany reasons), serial confrontations with his father whom he emulatesbut always feels a failure, the finding that his father has lymphoma,the ridicule of fat Shelly at school, Mike's edgy involvement with hisdrug counselor Don (Gil Bellows), and Noreen's new live-in Russ(Michael Rispoli). How David meanders through this quagmire of dilemmasis the story and while it is not pretty, it is pungent.
Cage inhabits the strange role of David finding a way to make thisloser with a short temper someone about whom we care. It is a toughassignment but Cage meets it on every level. Michael Caine providessome of the more eloquent moments in the film: his words of wisdom andview of life are the only grounded elements of the story. Likewise HopeDavis is fine as are the cameo roles of the children as sensitivelyplayed by de la Peña and Hoult. The subject of the film is tough andthe excessive use of potty mouth language is overbearing and at timesone wishes Verbinski would have edited some of the gross food slingingscenes.
But as an overall message movie there is much here to admire. It simplyis not the mindless slapstick the posters and trailers would indicate.The PR folks on this one blew it. Worth your time and attention. GradyHarp
Summary: A middle aged weather man with a failing family life, sickparent and dull job copes with his life and aspires to move to anational TV show.
ReplyDeleteA great movie about the modern dilemma. It is about American societyand its problems seen through the life of one guy. It talks about hisproblems, his mortality, his moral failings, and his caring soul aswell. Nicely written, great photography of Lake Michigan covered inice. Lots of great scenes where Nicholas Cage pull off difficultperformances. Many sadly comic scenes including a dream sequence withSponge Bob that is a wonderfully surreal.
I am afraid that disapproving critics don't understand the deep ironyand existential humor like a Kurt Vonnegut novel. Nothing illustratesthis better than the scene where Cage's character sees the giantballoon of Sponge Bob floating by. The meaning and meaningless of lifetogether with family and ambition together with human frailty cometogether wonderfully and with humor.
I can already tell that people are going to have very strong reactionsto The Weather Man. People are either going to love it or hate it.They're going to find it shockingly hilarious or just plain shocking. Iloved it and found it hilarious, but I'm not easily offended (I do ashow with Jegar, how can anything offend me?). There were manyinstances where I was the only person laughing in the theater. Forinstance, Michael Caine, who plays Robert Spritz, tells his son DavidSpritz (played by Nicolas Cage) that David's daughter is getting teasedat school and called "Camel Toe". Just to hear Sir Michael Caine usethe expression "camel toe" is pretty unexpected. But then various shotsof camel toes pop up on the screen to illustrate this phenomenon toanyone in the audience who's unfamiliar with the concept. I found itall absurdly hilarious, but I don't think many of the grey-hairedaudience shared my sentiments.
ReplyDeleteThis movie was not at all like I was expecting. The Weather Man iscrass and silly, but it's also extremely dark and sad. David Spritz isa sad, lonely man who's trying to reconcile with this ex-wife and gethis family back together, but despite his best intentions, things justnever work out the way he wants. More than anything, he wants to proveto his dying father that he can be a great man too, but time is runningout. This is not your typical comedy. It's not easy to watch sometimes,but according to Robert Spritz, "Easy doesn't enter into grown-uplife."
I saw a screening of this tonight, and I was very impressed. I expecteda rather shallow comedy, but instead, received a well-thought out anddelivered work which was insightful, quirky, funny and touching filmwhich was far above my expectations. Cage delivers a great performanceas usual, and the father-son relationship between Cage and Caine wasauthentic and balanced. This is not just a comedy, but is a study ofthe importance of family, and an overlying existential questioning ofwhat our lives are all about. I highly recommend it for men and womenalike. On a side note... Verbinski's works are diverse, fun, andinteresting, and this is no exception.
ReplyDeleteThe cusp of the dreaded mid-life crisis. The realization that lifesucks either because you've removed the rose colored glasses or becauseyou've been hit by one of life's ice balls. While at the point whereyou still believe in happy endings and hold on to the possibility thatif one good thing happens everything else will fall into place.
ReplyDeleteSo the story begins...Dave Spritz is a Chicago weatherman. As theevents of his life get worse he begins to put all his faith in a dreamjob in New York as a national weatherman. He believes this job willmagically restore his failing marriage, his relationship with this kidsand garner him the respect from his father (Michael Caine)he sodesires.
The ability to find humor in life's tragedies is an accomplishment thatdirector, writer and cast can all be proud of. The comedy in this moviecame just often enough to hold back the tears. It was a real lifecharacter study and of course Nicholas Cage and Michael Caine wereabsolutely superb.
What makes the movie so wonderful is that it is based on premises weall know but often forget. 1)Money doesn't buy happiness. 2)The littlethings mean a lot. 3)To quote the film, "The hard thing to do and theright thing to do are usually the same thing."
Thankfully Hollywood has made a movie that values our integrity andintelligence. Here is a film showing us that life is beautiful butchallenging and requires a little bit of work to move through. Throughits protagonist, we encounter daily frustrations of every type, fromconjugal discord to simple dissatisfaction's with our everydayexistence. Nicholas Cage might not have the extended range ofperformers like Penn or Brando, but he does competent work here. Heearns our sympathy and our attention with some of the best work he hasdone recently.
ReplyDelete"The Weather Man" is an extended metaphor for what goes on in our livesevery day. The film apparently didn't charm the pants off a few membersof the audience when I saw it. It didn't have the prepackaged bombs andspecial effects. It lacked enough vulgarity to appeal to thosepeople;instead it had one of the most touching and intelligent scriptsin the last year. Attendance might be down, and ironically quality isup in Hollywood. "The Weather Man" deals with real issues such asinsecurity, love, and trust. It presents scenarios where the audiencemight become uncomfortable looking at an aspect of their lives theymight not like. Here is a parent who is challenged by his inability toconnect with his own children, who appears to have unsurmountablechallenges dealing with a spouse, and who is now not very sure his jobis truly what he always wanted.
Michael Caine once again shines in his supporting role as the fatherwho can't communicate with his son, and has now pressing issues to dealwith before it's too late. Hope Davis does a bit of against-type workwith a woman who might be lacking in the warmth department. Both areimpeccable and very effective in their performances.
Verbinsky keeps a leisured pace, allowing the audience to meditate andunderstand how critical this stage of his life is for Dave (Cage). Thisis a sink or swim situation, and he must do some careful reevaluationin order to succeed. Whether he is able or not, is one of the joys ofthe film. This movie will be remembered for its depth and quality, forits attention to detail, as well as its realistic approach. It's a 10!
This movie was a great piece of social commentary on the emptiness ofour current American culture. Being the weatherman appears to be agreat job. It pays almost $300 Grand a year, and you can afford a niceapartment and a mansion for your beautiful blonde ex-wife and your twoestranged children.
ReplyDeleteA job as a weatherman, without a meteorological degree entailsabsolutely no challenges. You become lazy and bored, because you thinkyou have everything. After all, isn't the entire purpose of life tomake money, drive nice cars, and wear nice clothes, and eat out everynight of the week? You are able to spoil your children, hence neverteaching them the value of challenging themselves and depriving them ofever working toward a goal and feeling satisfied.
This is what we think living is today in this country! We have nodepth! We have toxic vocabulary, eat useless toxic food, we watchuseless toxic entertainment, and we have completely useless jobs thatcreate nothing. We wonder why our children have no idea what to do withthemselves? Wealthy Americans, which most of us are by the standards ofthe world, have no skills, no integrity, and no character. The onlythings our children grow up knowing for sure, are what a Frosty is, anda Big Gulp. The gap between this generation and their grandparents isvast. Our elders worked hard at jobs which created the foundation ofwealth and substance that we erode every day with our irresponsibleselfish consumerist conduct. Mr. Spritz has no idea what a Big Gulp is,but he's dying of the cancer that eats this country.
The Weatherman (Nicholas Cage) has a better time with himself, andeveryone else as soon as he figures this out. Hilariously, he had toactually get hit in the head with a Big Gulp. We need to focus on thethings that matter, take responsibility for our children, andourselves. The one thing that I think was off in the movie was the lineabout how being an adult does not include the word easy. The big secretto life, is that when we do things the correct way, often the hard way,life actually gets easier, for everyone.
I went to the theater expecting the usual vacuous Hollywood bomb. I wasblown away with the power of this movie. On the way out, we asked ayoung man that was working the theater what he thought. He said that hethought The Weatherman was incredibly dark and very far fetched. Iagree, our culture is dark and far fetched. The movie, however, wasdead on. Our current life is a bubble about to burst. This movieoffered a solution - find some meaning in your life and get after it.Pretending this vacuum doesn't exist, and that Jessica and AshleySimpson are talented individuals worth our time and interest, isincredibly bleak to me. On the other hand, I was pretty sure this youngman had no idea the scale of these problems. How could he, when he hasnever experienced anything else.
When I first saw the advertisements for "The Weather Man", it seemedlike the movie was going to be another formulaic, feel good Hollywoodredemption tale. In reality, it is a dark, scathing satire of Americanvalues. The marketing likely scared away a lot of people who wouldenjoy the film, while attracting an audience who was presented withsomething unexpected and perhaps uncomfortable. The comedy is quiteraunchy, the tone is bleak, and the story is anything but formulaic,throwing industry conventions right out the window, which leads to afilm that's more believable than most.
ReplyDeleteDavid Spritz is a man whose life has become the ultimate exercise infutility. Each day, he wakes up and goes to a job that, despite payinga handsome salary, is entirely unfulfilling. His relationship with hisex-wife is strained, his relationship with his children distant. Tomake things worse, his Pulitzer Prize winning father seems to bedisappointed in what David has done with his life.
In real life, progress in one's personal life is generally made in babysteps. Usually, people don't undergo a drastic transformation over thecourse of several months. David attempts to improve his standing inlife, at times failing entirely, at times succeeding in small doses.The results of these attempts range from very funny to downrightsaddening, and this helps lend the film an air of realism. This is acomplicated character study about a man coming to grips with the factthat he's failed to meet any of the goals he set for himself in life,despite attaining a social standing that many people are envious of.There aren't any easy answers or life altering epiphanies;self-improvement is a long, gradual task that will probably never becompletely fulfilled, and "The Weather Man" reflects this reality.While not for all tastes, this movie deserves credit for tackling arelatively conventional subject in a very unconventional, at least fora mainstream Hollywood movie, manner. I imagine that this film will bea bigger success overseas and on DVD than it will be in its UStheatrical run.