Father, Sons and The Weather Man

Season 19, Episode 7

Nicolas Cage plays David Spritz, a depressed weatherman, trying to figure out how to "fix" his life on so many levels. If he's not trying to reconcile with his wife, during a separation clearly headed toward divorce (She has a boyfriend!), then he's attempting to connect with his children, including stopping a predator from taking advantage of his teenage son.

We talk plenty on this episode about the many different facets of David's life that seem to be in flux and not in a good way for him. But one of the main subplots involves the strained relationship between David and his father, Robert Spritzel, played by Michael Caine.

David actively seeks his father's approval, even going so far as to plant a letter from Hello America (Basically, The Today Show), looking to have him come and audition for their national weatherman slot. We learn about the science-fiction novel David wrote that his father, an award-winning writer in his own right, never read. Robert consistently befuddled by his son's actions and words, you start to feel for David's uphill battle for his father's love.

The love is there, but Robert struggles with how to truly connect with his son. There are plenty of movies that deal with the many different relationships that fathers and sons have. In the case of The Weather Man, the ending leaves you feeling that the struggle between David and Robert is still there, but it's getting better.

Here are a few favorite father-son movies I enjoy:

Field of Dreams (You cried at the end. You know it.)

Road to Perdition (We covered this movie!)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Finding Nemo

Frequency

And there plenty more that I've forgotten or maybe haven't seen yet.