Weather Girl

I attended a screening of Blayne Weaver's "Weather Girl" at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. It had premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January and was one of those "buzz films" here.

Tricia O'Kelley stars a Seattle morning show's "sassy weather girl" who has an over-the-top, painfully funny on-air meltdown over her cheating boyfriend, the show's despicable co-anchor (the always-reliable Mark Harmon, "NCIS'" Agent Gibbs). Out of work, out of love, and homeless, she needs to pick up the pieces and start a new life. That begins with a knock on the door of her brother Walt's bachelor apartment (Ryan Devlin), where his best friend Byron (Patrick J. Adams) seems to have taken up permanent residence. Jon Cryer, Jane Lynch, and Blair Underwood are among other notables in the cast.

Although it's an indie, "Weather Girl" has the polished look of a Hollywood movie with top quality production values and cinematography that takes full advantage of its breathtaking Seattle location. But this is clearly a character-driven film where all the protagonists have their flaws and the villains simply cannot redeem themselves. There is a great deal of visual humor -- sight gags abound and facial expressions often are the jokes in themselves. The plot is somewhat formulaic, though, and we know where this is going right from the start. But even though we've seen this story before it is still entertaining and occasionally laugh out loud funny.

Writer/director Blayne Weaver, cast, and crew were present for a hilarious Q&A after the screening which rivaled the comedy in the movie.

Just a note: the picture was annoyingly dark. Generally I'd attribute this to poor projection on the part of the theater or a bad print (or digital copy) before I'd blame the post-production team. It definitely took away from my enjoyment of the film and I hope that's not the way the public will see it in the future.

I have often wondered what a movie peppered with sitcom stars (who work WAY harder than "serious" ones) would be like. Now I know. It's GREAT!

Containing stars from series like "Two And A Half Men" and "The New Adventures Of Old Christine" (and starring one of the snobby duo from the latter) this movie is better acted than most "rom-coms" that inhabit mainstream cinema today.

And while any movie that is written and directed by the same person should ring alarm bells - there are exceptions. And "Weather Girl" is definitely one of them.

It is a damn shame this movie got so little exposure in the theatres - but if it pops up on telly or you see it down at your local video-hire shop, check it out.

Okay, it's no "When Harry Met Sally" - but it will entertain you WAY more than a lot of the tosh that masquerades as cinematic entertainment these days.

This is a cute if slightly edgy romantic comedy. I think we all want to root for Sylvia. And Tricia O'Kelley is pleasant enough, when she is not going nuts.

Fans of "The Mick" or even "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" might be disappointed that Kaitlin Olson has such a small role, or that she's not nearly as likable here as she is in those shows. Sherry is either too perky, too boring (when she and Dale apologize for their co-worker's rant), too terrified or too nuts. The fact is the role of Sylvia seems to have been written for Olson. O'Kelley's delivery in many scenes appears very much like Mickey on "The Mick", including some personality quirks. I'm thinking particularly about what could be described as a stammer. O'Kelley is prettier, but it is Olson's personality that she seems to be giving us.

Mark Harmon gives us both conceited perfect anchor, a common stereotype, and a somewhat appealing character who we're really not supposed to like. I know he's respected, but I'm not sure he is in a role worthy of his talent.

I don't know who Patrick Adams is. I guess we're supposed to like him. I do find myself rooting for him but I'm not sure why.

Jane Lynch isn't as evil as her award-winning Sue Sylvester, but she's bad enough. Meaning good enough.

I don't know the names of Sylvia's potential bosses, but several of them really stand out. Great performances, for the material.

It's worth seeing.

For me this movie was a 6ish. The acting is good but not great although the biggest letdown is the script. If you've seen a few of these before you know what is going to happen at least half an hour earlier.

Don't mean to sound rude but Tricia O'Kelley is a 41 year old actress playing a 35 year old woman. You kind of feel the age difference between her and the 28 year old Patrick J. Adams getting in the way of their acting. Another so-so performance comes from Mark Harmon. He is very stiff and lifeless and I don't think that was intentional.

Would I pay money to see this: no. Would I recommend this to couple friends: yes. Its a no-nonsense movie easy going and without side effects. Anyone looking for art and a cathartic experience will be very disappointed.

I saw this at the LA Film Festival in Westwood. I can see this film having a very successful life on Netflix after it's theatrical run. While it is an easy romantic comedy with the usual emotional chaos and (occasionally) predictable but very entertaining story-line, this film is executed beautifully. The dialog is snappy, funny and has that contemporary indie feel like Juno. Within the romantic comedy genre it's right up there with the greats, but made on a much smaller budget. I'm sure the Director will stick around after this. Did well at Slamdance.

Wonderful set design, strong performances and the comedic timing of a pro, the audience laughed hard at all the right spots. The lead was perfectly cast and even the cliché ridden romantic male lead (the dude, looking like he's still in college) came across as lovable.

It doesn't take many risks because it doesn't need to. Good judgment on behalf of the team lead by Blayne Weaver has lead to a successful, well made comedy.

I would recommend this movie. Good comedy.