The Weather Man
Encyclopedia
The Weather Man is a 2005 American comedy-drama film, directed by Gore Verbinski
. Written by Steve Conrad, it stars Nicolas Cage
, Michael Caine
and Hope Davis
and tells the story of a weatherman
in the midst of a mid-life crisis
.
Released on October 28, 2005, the film had a total gross of $
19,039,770 worldwide. It received mixed reviews from critics.
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.
The film also includes cameo
s from news presenter
s, such as Bryant Gumbel
, Ed McMahon
, Cristina Ferrare
, and Wolfgang Puck
.
, with the site's consensus stating "With fine performances and a dark, dry sense of humor, The Weather Man is mostly cloudy with occasional rays of sunshine." It also has a 61% rating on Metacritic
.
The film was released in North America
on October 28, 2005 and ran for nearly eight weeks (precisely 54 days). It grossed $12,482,775 domestically and $6,556,995 at the foreign box office, a total of $19,039,770.
Gore Verbinski
Gregor "Gore" Verbinski is an American film director, writer and musician. He is best known for directing the films The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Rango.-Early life:...
. Written by Steve Conrad, it stars Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
, Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
and Hope Davis
Hope Davis
Hope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland....
and tells the story of a weatherman
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
in the midst of a mid-life crisis
Mid-life crisis
Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques and used in Western societies to describe a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the "middle years" or middle age of life, as a result of sensing the passing of their own youth and the imminence of their old age...
.
Released on October 28, 2005, the film had a total gross of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
19,039,770 worldwide. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
A successful weathermanWeather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
at a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
news program
News program
A news program, news programme, news show, or newscast is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. News is typically reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors...
, David Spritz is well paid but garners little respect from people in the area who throw fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
at him, David suspects, because are resentful of how easy his high-paying job is. Dave also feels overshadowed by his father, Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-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
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
and given only a few months to live. As he becomes more and more depressed, Dave takes up archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
, 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
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. 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
Licensed Professional Counselor
Licensed professional counselor is a licensure for mental health professionals. The exact title varies by state, but the other most frequently used title is licensed mental health counselor . Several U.S. states, including Illinois, Maine, and Tennessee, have implemented a two-tier system whereby...
, claiming that the man wanted to perform oral sex
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
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
Living funeral
A living funeral is a gathering centered around someone who will soon die. One of the more famous living funerals was that for Morrie Schwartz which was documented in both the book and film Tuesdays with Morrie and feature Detroit Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom as one of the central...
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.
Cast
- Nicolas CageNicolas CageNicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
as David Spritz - Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as Robert Spritzel - Hope DavisHope DavisHope Davis is an American actress. She has starred in more than 20 feature films, including About Schmidt, Arlington Road, Flatliners, Mumford, American Splendor, The Lodger and Next Stop Wonderland....
as Noreen - Gemmenne de la PeñaGemmenne de la PeñaGemmenne de la Peña is an American actress.- Career :Gemmenne de la Peña made her acting debut at the age of two. Her brother E.J...
as Shelly - Nicholas HoultNicholas HoultNicholas Caradoc Hoult is an English actor, best known for playing Marcus Brewer in the 2002 film About a Boy, Tony Stonem in the E4, BAFTA-winning television series Skins, and Beast in the X-Men prequel, X-Men: First Class.-Early life:Hoult was born in Wokingham, Berkshire, the third of four...
as Mike - Michael RispoliMichael RispoliMichael Rispoli is an American character actor. He was formerly part of the HBO television series The Sopranos as Jackie Aprile, Sr...
as Russ - Gil BellowsGil BellowsGil Bellows is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Thomas in the television series Ally McBeal and as CIA agent Matt Callan in the television series The Agency.-Early life:Bellows was born in Vancouver, British...
as Don - Judith McConnellJudith McConnellJudith McConnell is an American actress, best known for her role as Sophia Wayne Capwell on the TV series Santa Barbara, on which she appeared from 1984 to 1993....
as Lauren - Tom SkillingTom SkillingThomas Ethelbert Skilling, III , known on-air as Tom Skilling, is a popular meteorologist in Chicago, Illinois. He is the chief meteorologist for the weekday midday, 5 and 9 p.m. newscasts at CW affiliate and national cable superstation WGN-TV .-Early beginnings:Skilling began his career in...
as WGN Assistant Director
The film also includes cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s from news presenter
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
s, such as Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.-Early life:...
, Ed McMahon
Ed McMahon
Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. was an American comedian, game show host and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick and announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995...
, Cristina Ferrare
Cristina Ferrare
Cristina Ferrare is a former fashion model, actress, author and television talk-show host....
, and Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions...
.
Reception
The Weather Man received mixed reviews, gaining an overall score of 59% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with the site's consensus stating "With fine performances and a dark, dry sense of humor, The Weather Man is mostly cloudy with occasional rays of sunshine." It also has a 61% rating on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
The film was released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on October 28, 2005 and ran for nearly eight weeks (precisely 54 days). It grossed $12,482,775 domestically and $6,556,995 at the foreign box office, a total of $19,039,770.