- A Chicago weather man, separated from his wife and children, debates whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive.
- Dave Spritz is a local weatherman in his home town of Chicago, where his career is going well, while his personal life, his relationship with his perfectionist writer father, his neurotic ex-wife, and his now-separated children, is spiralling downward. Despite being loathed and loved by the local masses, Dave is a guy who doesn't seem to have it all together, and in this movie, he begins to feel it. An attractive job offer presents Dave with a major question: to pursue his career in New York City, or to remain at home with his family.—mystic80
- Dave Spritz has a decent career as a weatherman in Chicago. He is loved and hated by people. However, his personal life is a mess, his father is dying, his ex-kids are not the brightest kids in the world, and his wife isn't fond of him. Trying to cope with all his problems, Dave attempts to make his father proud before he dies, tries to help his kids become better people, and try to get back with his wife. Sounds easy right? Not a chance.—yatessixecho
- What does it mean to be an adult? Chicago television weatherman, Dave Spritz, is unhappy to be divorced, unhappy to be recognized on the street, distracted from the needs of his chubby preteen daughter and his naive teenage son, disconcerted when strangers throw things at him, and convinced he's a failure in the eyes of his father, a successful writer. In response, Dave constantly announces breathless plans to make things better, impractical, unrealistic, juvenile drivel. A job opening in New York City, his father's illness, his ex-wife's romance, and his children's problems from growing up too quickly converge on the hapless Dave. Can he step into adulthood?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
- Clever and insightful movie on the subject of growing-up in upper middle class America. Dave Spritz, a weatherman without meteorological qualifications in Chicago, is confronted with his own rage that life hasn't proceeded as he had planned. A talented man who finds it difficult to see his own talent because he compares himself with his Pulitzer winning, distant father is at a low ebb. Not to mention that "fans" delight in recognizing him on the street and throwing food at him. The other problems in his life, an angry ex-wife, a daughter bullied at school, and a son just leaving rehab don't help. And Spritz would really rather just think about sex. Through finding a hobby, connecting with his dying father, and standing by his kids, we see the character grow and become a hero.—sandamy27@yahoo.com
- A successful weatherman at a Chicago news program, David Spritz is well paid but garners little respect from people in the area who throw fast food at him, David suspects, because are resentful of how easy his high-paying job is. Dave also feels overshadowed by his father, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Spritzel, who is disappointed in Dave's apparent inability to grow up and deal with his two children. The situation worsens when Robert is diagnosed with lymphoma and given only a few months to live. As he becomes more and more depressed, Dave takes up archery, finding the activity a way to build his focus and calm his nerves.
To prove himself to his father and possibly reconcile with Noreen, his estranged wife, Dave pursues a weatherman position with a national talk show called Hello America. The job would nearly quadruple his salary, but means relocating to New York City. When Hello America invites him to New York, he takes his daughter with him and bonds with her by helping her shop for a more suitable wardrobe. While away, Dave learns that his son attacked his counselor, claiming that the man wanted to perform oral sex on him. Despite this stress and an all-night drinking binge, Dave impresses the Hello America interviewers and is eventually offered the job.
When he returns, Dave slaps Russ, Noreen's boyfriend, when he finds him dealing with his son's predicament. Dave later confronts the counselor at his home, beating him up and warning him that he is in store for worse.
The family holds a living funeral for Robert, in which Dave asks Noreen to reconcile and move to New York, but she has decided to marry Russ. Dave and Robert have one final talk, in which Dave breaks down in tears, unsure of his life's choices. Robert consoles him, telling him that he has time to "chuck" the garbage of his life. Robert dies soon after.
The film ends several months later, after Dave has accepted the job and moved to New York. People have ceased throwing things at him though, he muses, this may be a pleasant side-effect of his archery hobby, for which he carries a bow.
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