2005
Rated R
Directed by Gore Verbinski
Written by Steven Conrad
Starring Nicholas Cage, Michael Caine, and Hope Davis

So. Before I begin, I must explain my love/hate relationship with Nic Cage. I always thought I hated him. But I finally came to this conclusion: Nicholas Cage The Action Hero and Nicholas Cage The Romantic Lead make me want to vomit. But Nicholas Cage The Down-On-His-Luck Loser is pretty damn good. I loved Cage in Leaving Las Vegas and in Adaptation.

Here's the summary (abridged by me) from Wikipedia:

Chicago weatherman David Spritz (Cage) spends his time in a daze. He is often unlucky.

His job is well-paying, but he finds it unsatisfactory that it doesn't require much except to speak and point, and the weather forecasts he reads are often inaccurate. Also, he's a local celebrity, but his fans are not kind to Dave, of which many expect him to live up to his celebrity status instead of realizing he's just a human being like everyone else; once every few months people throw junk food at him.

As for his home life, he is separated from his wife Noreen (Davis) with the possibility of either reconciliation or divorce. He is very rude to her new lover Russ.

Dave feels inferior to his very successful father Robert Spritzel (Caine), a Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Robert has lymphoma and only a few months to live; he deals with that in a quiet, dignified manner. Dave accompanies him to hospitals. Robert is concerned about the oddities and problems of Dave, Dave's children, and Dave's relation with his wife.

Dave has a 12-year-old daughter Shelly who smokes and is teased by her classmates, who call her "camel toe" because her genitals show through her tight clothing. Dave also has a 15-year-old son Mike who has had some trouble with the law concerning drug use. Mike is creepily befriended by his rehab counselor Don, who is very generous. However, it is suggested that Don has a pedophile interest in Mike.

Basically, this film is about all the problems in Spritz's life, and how he deals with them. The movie is bleak but hilarious (for example, the whole camel toe thing with his daughter had me cracking up, as did the tartar sauce flashback scene). Nicholas Cage plays Dave Spritz very earnestly and very effectively.

I didn't expect to like this movie, but I ended up loving it! I definitely recommend this to everyone, but especially those of you who are wary of Nic Cage.


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