The Weather Man

Dave Spritz reads the weather in Chicago. He is well paid, about to move to a national show, and every other part of his life has come apart: divorced, unable to talk to his children, with a dying father who won a Pulitzer. The detail that sticks is a running gag: people keep throwing fast food at him in the street. His own explanation is that they resent how much he earns. Underneath it is something real, because he produces nothing and knows it. Nicolas Cage leads with Michael Caine as his father. Gore Verbinski made it between two Pirates of the Caribbean films. It premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival on 20 October 2005, went wide on 28 October, and stayed in cinemas 54 days. On a 22 million dollar budget it grossed 19 million worldwide. Reviews split, with Rotten Tomatoes at 60 percent pointing to fine performances and a dark, dry sense of humour, and Metacritic at 61. Audiences went much lower, giving it a D plus on CinemaScore. Who it is for: viewers who like black comedy and midlife collapse. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a comedy. The tone is far bleaker than the marketing promised, which is exactly why the audience score fell where it did.