Weather Girl (2009) Reviews

• Start with...a Seaweed reference and you got me...so good I had to watch it twice!

  uncool926-12010-02-15

  OK, romantic comedies usually turn me off, but I really liked this movie. It's loaded with guest appearances that come fast and furious; like Jane Lynch as a hysterically contemptuous restaurant manager; Jon Cryer as as creepy accountant set-up date; Blair Underwood as the frantic Producer; Alex Kapp Hunter and Marin Hinkle as devoted but misguided friends, but the real magic to this indie film is the performances of the title character, "sassy weather girl" Sylvia (the stunning Tricia O'Kelley), her perpetually dismayed but faithful brother Walt (Ryan Devlin), and his semi-slacker house mate Byron (Patrick J. Davis). Writer/director Blayne Weaver (how could Jon "Duckie" Cryer keep a straight face throughout his scenes?) actually makes a romantic comedy believable and thoroughly watchable, which is quite a feat. I loved the set design, in particular Walt's apartment, which resembles a theme park for yet-to-be-developed young adults (I can relate)...but someone was totally on by including a Seaweed poster, a totally cool Seattle band, who I'm sure were delighted to be in the prop! Tricia O'Kelley was totally lovable and played her character well. Her character straddled two worlds that were quite separate and totally different, and her involvement with her brother Walt and his buddy Byron were very believable and not too over-the-top. My favorite scene is the one in which Sylvia comes home to her brother's apartment after a particularly distressing day, and upon seeing Walt and Byron involved in a video game, simply takes her waitresses' uniform off and waltzes over to Byron's apartment across the hall in her underwear and boots. Byron, being a 29-year-old guy, immediately follows.

• Enjoyable and entertaining little indie, formulaic but definitely funny

  larry-4112009-07-01

  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.

• Funny, tight romantic comedy

  venicerocco2009-06-20

  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.

• Absolutely hilarious from beginning to end with a hint of self-awareness

  napierslogs2010-12-31

  Tricia O'Kelley is our sassy weather girl, Sylvia, except she insists she's not sassy, she just has boyfriend problems and now employment problems giving way to the numerous emotional issues which our heroine explores in this romantic comedy. Sylvia is a fantastic romantic comedy heroine. Sure, she's slightly desperate for a boyfriend but when her job opportunities disappear, she does the responsible thing and finds a temporary solution, as a waitress. She retains just enough optimism peeking out of the many hysterical breakdowns, that watching her is a joyful experience. We have two leading men, both extremely attractive and even better, their many moments of humour are priceless. Walt (Ryan Devlin) is Sylvia's younger brother and he puts up with all her neuroses because of brotherly love. Byron (Patrick J. Adams) is Walt's best friend, he also puts up with Sylvia's many neuroses, but out of a more carnal love. This film succeeds because young career women can relate to Sylvia's problems unlike the similar "Morning Glory" (2010), and every actor aptly delivers the comedy (unlike most big budget comedies). It's well written and knows its genre well playing up most of the formulaic elements on purpose but without any of the hackneyed details. "Weather Girl" is definitely a great romantic comedy because it's absolutely hilarious from beginning to end with just a hint of self-awareness.

• a refreshing romantic comedy

  jmportia2009-08-02

  I just saw this movie at a screening in Sonoma and was wonderfully surprised. I might be a bit biased because I am a fan of romantic comedies and movies in general, but this was a good movie. At times, the movie itself seems to be poking fun at romantic comedies with how it handles some situations and some of the lines. The tag/plot from the main IMDb page gives a great overview of the plot: A Seattle weather girl freaks out on-air over her cheating boyfriend, the morning show anchor, and moves in with her little brother. This does not give the movie away. The depth of the story is not usually found in romantic comedies. There is more to this movie than girl meets boy. All of the casting is wonderful. The only issue I had was with Byron and Walt, for some reason I thought the actors should have been switched. By the end of the movie I disregarded this because both of them develop into their roles. This is one of those movies that is great if you are a movie lover (and some TV) because there are so many great actors in it. Almost every scene there is another actor/actress where you think to yourself 'where have I seen them before?' or 'oh, I love them'. I do have to agree with another reviewer on here that the movie is a little dark, not film noir dark but actually screen dark. I am guessing that is the theater I saw it in (a classic old one that is not set up for digital projection). I gave it a 9/10 because I have only seen it once. I reserve 10/10 for after the second viewing, if I still feel the same way about it it gets another star.