 The Weather Man is making as much of an impression on critics as real-life weather men make on their audiences, that is, not very much at all. Most find it amusing in spots, but not enough to produce strong word-of-mouth, which a film like this depends on. "This is a movie you might be able to put up with if you're in a certain mood or be put off by if you're not," writes Mike Clark in USA Today. "Like the chilly winds that blow throughout it, The Weather Man is cold, grim, erratic and eventually just relentless," writes Peter Howell in the Toronto Star. Kyle Smith in the New York Post calls it, "Perhaps the most bitter studio film of the year." To Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal, it's "a guaranteed downer that's devoid of any upside." However, like many of his colleagues, Michael Wilmington in the Chicago Tribune has nice things to say about star Nicolas Cage. "Cage's big, sad, soulful eyes and volatile personality make him ideal for offbeat types like this," he writes. The film itself does have several admirers. Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times calls it "a surprisingly wry, contemplative movie." And Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times spends most of his review excoriating his fellow critics who have negatively reviewed Weather Man, concluding, "The Weather Man seems to offend some critics because it doesn't know its place [as an art film], and wants to be good even though Paramount made it with a star." |
