Issue #6: The Weather Man
The price of being famous for very little.
Apologies for the delay on this week’s issue. Kevin broke the projector again on Friday. He’s been sent back to popcorn duty.
Anyway, we’ll have to keep the trailers to a minimum to get you to your movie ASAP.
Yesterday one of my favorite Film YouTubers Patrick H. Willems came out with an excellent video on film opening title sequences, their history, and why they’re great. I’d like to think he stumbled across my Jiu Jitsu breakdown and was inspired.
I am pretty hyped to see what the new Bond movie’s opening sequence will be like. I mean, come on. Skyfall’s were so dope.
At any rate, it’s time for the movie. Damn it, Kevin.
The Feature Film
First it’s a frosty. One from Wendy’s, chocolate, and not the small $1 one either. The plastic spoon is still inside the cup, so when it splatters all over our protagonist’s coat, the spoon and much of the semi-frozen liquid remains.
It’s not a good look, but isn’t the first time Cage’s aptly named David Spritz has been hit by stuff just for being a TV personality. There’s been a Big Gulp (which we see), a chicken breast from Kenny Rogers, a soft taco to the chin, pop, falafel, McNuggets and..
“A McDonald’s hot apple pie. They weren’t kidding. It was hot. … It’s always fast food. Shit people would rather throw out than finish. It’s easy, tastes alright but doesn’t really provide you any nourishment. I’m fast food.”
The Weather Man shows a man going through a crisis of identity, a man losing his family, a man famous and well-paid for waving at a green screen, isn’t an actual meteorologist, is jealous of his father’s success as a writer, and has gotten used to people throwing shit at him.
I genuinely laughed at one scene where Spritz’s dad, beautifully played by Michael Caine, yells Dave’s name from the car. Spritz reactively flinches before realizing it was his own dad trying to get his attention.
But it is genuinely tragic to watch a man grapple with his self-worth through his output to society, and the entitlement others feel to treat him in such a shit fashion purely because his job is performed on TV.
“You’re on TV, bro” one asshole keeps repeating as Spritz is just trying to get through a line at the BMV, as if to remind Spritz that he’s signed some kind of social contract to be genial and “on” even in the most mundane situations. And then to just take it when people throw hot pies at him because, hey, that’s all part of it, too.
We’re seeing the same thing in the YouTube era as creators talk about burnout and oversized expectations of their time on a regular basis, and that negative comments are just part of it. It may not be a Big Gulp to the face, but that wouldn’t be happening without an aura of anonymity from the commenter and an expectation that the public figure should just deal.
This August Wired story on Pokimane is an excellent read if you’re looking to learn more about what modern creators are going through now.
I don’t want to give away too much because I do think this is one you should watch at some point, but I can say that walking around a major metropolitan city with a bow and quiver of arrows probably is a good way to stop getting things thrown at you.
I give The Weather Man 3 1/2 Big Gulps out of 5.