#13 The Weather Man

#13 The Weather Man

Year: 2005

Director: Gore Verbinski

MPAA Rating:  R 

Epic Co-stars: Michael Caine

Running Time: 101 mins.
Cage Time: ~95%
Cage Kills: 0
Cage Flip-outs: 6

Shauna's Review: In 2010, Roger Ebert wrote: "There are often lists of the great living male movie stars: De Niro, Nicholson and Pacino, usually. How often do you see the name of Nicolas Cage? He should always be up there. He's daring and fearless in his choice of roles, and unafraid to crawl out on a limb, saw it off and remain suspended in air. No one else can project inner trembling so effectively.... He always seems so earnest. However improbable his character, he never winks at the audience. He is committed to the character with every atom and plays him as if he were him."

What this means in practical terms is that, in most of his roles, Cage is unnervingly convincing as a megalomaniac. The Weather Man, by contrast, is a serious Film that allows us to see the fragile, sensitive, everyman Nic Cage. Or, as Skyler and James put it, "Finally, a Cage film with some nudity!"

"People don't throw things at me any more. Maybe because I carry a bow around."

Cage plays David Spritz, Chicago TV weatherman, divorced husband, father of two, and son of   a Nobel-award-winning writer, played by Michael Caine, who is awesome. Since this is an independent-type, dark comedy, his kids cuss and smoke and do edgy things like hang out with creepy perverts, his wife acts like a real bitch (not like Debra on Everybody Loves Raymond, but like, really annoying), and everyone says "fuck" frequently and with relish. The film follows Spritz's inner monologue as he tries, mostly ineffectively, to reconstruct his decaying personal life, even as his professional career moves forward. 

My name is Michael Caine, and I am awesome.
Also, if you haven't seen The Trip, watch this.

My brother once told me, "That movie is a real bummer." But I actually found it to be fairly hilarious. No, it's not upbeat. Spritz is an unhappy character out on a limb, feeling it crack under his weight yet paralyzed by doubt. Cage doesn't exaggerate these weaknesses for comedic purposes, and he doesn't need to; the writing is wittily sharp and self-deprecating. Instead he embodies this character earnestly and with real conviction, making this a solid entry in the Cage canon.

Movie quotability:

• "That was refreshing. I am refreshed. I am refreshing." 
• "People recognize me sometimes. Some are dicks." 
• "You ARE a dildo, pork fuck- fucker." 
• "Her colleagues call her camel toe.... It means the crease in her vagina that they can discern through her clothing." 
• "You know what, Dave. You want to know why my BJs lacked enthusiasm? I hated you. I hated your hair. I hated your ugly legs, your forearms. I hated kissing your lips, Dave. OK? And that's why I lacked enthusiasm when your cock was in my mouth." 
• "I don't know. It's a guess. It's wind. It blows all over the place." 
• "I'd like to put my face in there...tartar sauce...I like to eat pussy, tartar sauce...."
• "'When I think of my dad, I think of Bob Seger's Like a Rock.' And that's all I said at my father's living funeral." 
• "Always fast food.  Fast food.  Things that people would rather throw out than finish.  It's easy, it tastes all right, but it doesn't really provide you any nourishment.  I'm fast food." 

Plot Holes:

• None, except that $240k+ a year seems like a lot for a weatherman. 

	CAGEamatic	Cinematic
Skyler	Exceeds Expectations	Outstanding
Shauna
James	4.18/5	3.89/5
Martine	!Got teared up in the cage!