Director Gore Verbinski’s “The Weather Man” is a huge downer, and the surprising thing is that this time it can’t be blamed on Nicolas Cage. The flighty actor, best known for ruining so many otherwise fine films, turns in an energetic performance under the circumstances, combining with a so-so Hope Davis and a standout Michael Caine to almost save a film best described as a worthwhile failure.
Which is also a good description for protagonist David Spritz (Cage), a Chicago weather anchor with an unsatisfied ex-wife (Davis), a disapproving father (Caine) and a couple of fairly bratty, dysfunctional kids. David may be a loser, but he is also, in his way, a man on the move; he is being offered work with a national network in New York City, and it could make him a star. If only people would stop throwing food at him on the street.
Cage is at his best here (which isn’t saying much), spritzing his lines all over the screen with typical manic energy. The difference here is that his mania serves to help a film as downbeat as this one — usually Cage’s persona overamps films that are already overamped. Davis is part of the reason “The Weather Man” is gloomy. She always plays depressives, but she is becoming typecast already, and already is way too soon. Caine, as an ailing novelist and scolding parent, is superb. Director Verbinski seems to be trying, after the mainstream success of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” to make a quirky-but-serious film along the lines of P.T. Anderson’s “Punch Drunk Love”; an indie film with a big Hollywood budget that’s original and yet comfortably predictable. With visual flourishes (for example, Dave’s sudden passion for archery shot against a brightly lit cityscape) and overly self-conscious dialogue, he has succeeded in doing just that.
It’s also nice to hear an Iggy Pop song on a soundtrack (“The Passenger”) besides “Lust for Life.”
BY PAUL KOPASZ
leo@leoweekly.com
