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The Weather Man

Wed., February 22, 2006

DVD cover for 'The Weather Man.'I’m one of many, I think, who rallied in support of the return of Nicolas Cage’s patented sad-sack funny-guy role in Adaptation. You know, the one he originated in the ’80s, playing H.I. in Raising Arizona and the one-handed baker in Moonstruck. Brilliant.

Unfortunately, this archetype peaked with Leaving Las Vegas and for the rest of the ’90s, Nicholas “Call me ‘Nick’” Cage was Mr. Best Actor big-budget action movie star, resplendent in his personal trainers and expensive hairpieces. My eyes water from the stink: The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off, Snake Eyes, 8MM. Things improved with Bringing Out the Dead and by Adaptation, Cage had returned to shouldering the saddlebags of sadness in all his schlubby glory.

So I suppose I can’t complain about his most recent film, The Weather Man, which I watched tonight on DVD. It was just too much for me to have his character constantly shit upon by this cruel world. His sodden grimness blankets the film like its dark Chicago winter. There are welcome flashes of comedic brilliance, but most of them were given away in the trailer: Cage’s sudden infatuation with archery, a building joke that never quite pays off. Him getting pelted with various fast food items thrown by passing strangers (physical comedy is my weakness and my favorite here has him talking on his cell phone as he gets nailed square in the head by a six-piece box of Chicken McNuggets, in extreme slow motion, no less). And the straw-that-breaks-the-marriage’s-back “Don’t forget the tartar sauce” directive by wife Hope Davis, which we witness him forget during a voiceover of rapid stream-of-conscious thoughts as he crosses the street to the store.

Some funny bits not in the trailer that I’ll give away are Michael Caine, as Cage’s father, in what’s certainly the high point of an illustrious 50-year acting career, carefully describing what a cameltoe is. Then there’s the grimly funny results of a botched “trust-building” marriage counseling exercise with Cage’s now extremely estranged wife, wherein they each write down the worst secret they’ve kept from one other, then exchange papers, promising never to read them. Guess what happens! Ha ha!

Other than that, the script meanders and seems to have at least two endings, neither of which is wholly satisfactory.

Tags: Movie | Comments have been closed.

On February 23, 2006 at 4:29 p.m., Andie Hine wrote:

thank you for the wikipedia cameltoe link. the photo is hilarious although i'm sure they couldn've found a better shot, like one of Celine Dion in that awful white onepiece she was fond of about 10 years ago. i especially like the alternate names. nice.

On February 23, 2006 at 4:48 p.m., Jason wrote:

Almost as helpful as Wikipedia is the song "Cameltoe" by Fannypack. Those ladies remind me of a 21st-century version of J.J. Fad. There's a 30-sec clip on the iTunes Music Store if you're curious and somehow avoided hearing the song during that rambunctious summer of 2003.