The Weather Man ***1/2
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Gemmenne de la Pena, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Rispoli, Gil Bellows
Director: Gore Verbinski
Running Length: 1:41
MPAA Classification: R

David Spritz (Cage) is the weathereman on Channel 6 in Chicago. Well, he reads the weather, someone else does all the predicting for him. As luck would have it, a national morning show is looking for a new weather man, and he is one of the candidates. Unfortunately, that is just about the only good thing going on in his life.

His marriage to Noreen (Davis) is over, and his inability to trust her is not helping his desire to reconcile with her. His son Mike (Hoult) is just out of rehab for drugs. His daughter (de la Pena) has no self-esteem. Finally, his famous author father, Robert (Caine), is dying of lymphoma, and has always been disappointed in him. Nothing is going right for David, but maybe getting that national weather man position could turn things around. Of course, getting that job would mean giving up on his family. That is a lot for one man to weather.

Nicholas Cage is excellent as the poor schlub who has nothing going for him. His wry narration and embodyment of David show that Cage is at the top of his game here. Caine is great as the disappointed father that just does not understand his son. In between filming "Pirates of the Carribbean" movies, director Gore Verbinski has churned out a serious look at someone who just cannot get things right. "The Weather Man" is not a happy movie, but it is a good one. I have a feeling that it will either be loved or hated. I, for one, loved it, and if you are willing to give it a chance, you might find that you will too. Highly recommended.