Dir. Gore Verbinski, 2005, US, 101 mins
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Nicholas Hoult
Review by Becky Day
Dave Spritz (Cage) is the weatherman for “Hello America.” How at ease Sprintz is on TV is how awkward he is in real life. He can’t handle the attention he gets from the public, his son’s in rehab and his daughter’s overweight and being bullied. He’s determined before his dad kicks the bucket to change everything for the better, including trying to win back the heart of his wife (Davis). Unfortunately, he isn’t the luckiest or subtlest of characters. He messes up in so many ways and in the end he just has to learn that he can’t control life or the weather.
Whether you’ll find this an agreeable film is totally based on your perspective on life. The film’s humour spawns from serendipity; one day everything will go your way and the next you have a milkshake thrown at you (which happens to Cage a lot, vastly amusing).
Cage does his usual monotone act, playing the believable lousy father. Spritz is a rather pathetic character so whether it’s actually funny or a just a relief to have something ridiculous happen to him is hard to tell the difference. The family problems have been done a hundred times over. Caine is a relief to the banal activities, playing Spritz’s nonchalant father. The mere way he observes his son’s behaviour and his view on life is the key to the giggles.
This is an interesting choice of project for Gore who previously directed the huge box office success of Pirates of the Caribbean. As the main ingredients for “Pirates” were fantasy and “Disney” comedy, this film in comparison is so naturalistic and simple in its story, the shots and the music. So don’t expect a heroic Johnny Depp to swoop on screen, or you’ll be waiting a while.
If you laugh at the little stupidities of life or if you enjoyed Fargo or Somersault you will like this film. It’s nowhere near the same level of brilliance as those other films but still has a few hysterical moments.
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