The Weather Man

You know, I think we frequently take screenwriters, actors, and directors for granted. With every film they collaborate on, they have to—among other things—create protagonists that not only are flawed and real, but are also characters that the audience can root for. And you know what? Most of the time, they do an okay job at this. But that makes it very glaring when that subtle balance is off.
Such is the case, unfortunately, with The Weather Man, a movie that can best be described as good-yet-unsatisfying. It's well-shot, it tackles big and meaningful issues, it's entertaining, it's led by two Oscar-winning actors. And it's still unsatisfying.
Some of that has to do with Nicholas Cage, who plays David Spritz, the titular weather man. Cage sports the exact look you see on the poster in the upper left corner of this review throughout 90 percent of his time on screen. I believe the only time we see him smile in the film is when his character is predicting the weather on television.
But some of the blame must also fall to director Gore Verbinski, who must be either asking Cage to act that way or allowing him to do so. The bigger problem, is that Verbinski and screenwriter Steve Conrad have done everything in their power to make us pity this character: his wife is involved with another man, his preteen daughter is obese and unhappy, he can't live up to the reputation set by his Pulitzer Prize-winning father (Michael Caine), his 15-year-old son (Nicholas Hoult, the kid from About a Boy) has very adult problems, and to top it all off, people occasionally throw fast food at him (again, note the poster). Yet Verbinski and Conrad—and to a lesser extent Cage—do nothing to make this character likeable: he's shallow, he's simple, he's largely self-centered, he's more or less a schmuck.
This is really disappointing, because the rest of the film is really, really good. It's interesting, it's thoughtful, it's well-shot and well-acted. But all that gets tainted by the unfortunate unlikeability of the main character. To use my second food metaphor in as many reviews: It's a bit like ordering a hamburger where the bun is soft and warm, the lettuce and tomato are crisp and ripe, the condiments are perfectly balanced and delicious—but the burger itself is burnt to a crisp. So even while you'd love to be enjoying the bun, vegetables, and condiments, every bite you take tastes like ash.
Strangely enough, though, even with all that said, I'd still recommend seeing this movie. Don't rush out to rent it, and don't put it at the top of your Netflix queue, but if you get a chance, have a look at this movie. Just don't go in expecting to enjoy it. Go in expecting to learn from it. Because even with the overcooked main character, all the excellent surrounding elements are still enough to get this movie a 6.