Weather Girl (2009)

It is time for the unbelievably perky Seattle morning show to start. Where is Sylvia? Co-anchors Dale and Sherry want to know.When Sylvia does show up, she is anything but perky. People later describe her as sassy. She rants about the weather (don't most people in Seattle?). She attacks both Dale, who she has been dating, and Sherry, who Dale has been cheating with, using language that I don't get to hear since I am watching on broadcast TV. Something tells me Seattle viewers weren't so lucky. And her director orders that no one cut away from what she is doing, except maybe to show her co-workers' reactions. This being the age of viral videos, the rant appears online everywhere.Now Sylvia does not have a job. She moves in with her brother Walt, whose best friend Byron designs web sites despite a graduate degree in philosophy, and he has to use Walt's computer because his is broken. So Sylvia has no privacy. Well, there is one way she can have it, but Walt doesn't like being evicted from his one bedroom.Other potential employers are excited about the idea of Sylvia working for them, but they have to admit they can't take a chance on her behaving like that again, and viewers are less likely to be so accepting. Walt wants Sylvia to get a job, and she finally gets to the point where she'll take anything. Anything means being a waitress with the very demanding J.D. as her boss.And Walt wants Sylvia to find a man. Byron is attracted to her, but she's not interested in a commitment to him. There is the responsible, reliable Charles, but Sylvia can't stand him. Maybe a relationship with Byron is possible. Can it really happen?More importantly, Sylvia finds the perfect job. But it's not so perfect.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.

We found this one on Netflix streaming movies. Although the theme has been well explored over the years the dialog and acting are very fresh and more interesting than most of this genre.Tricia O'Kelley, a TV series veteran actress, is weather girl Sylvia at a Seattle TV station. It is a menial job for a well-educated woman, but she often is the butt of references by the morning talk show "talent." In a really good role for him, Mark Harmon is the main talent, Dale, and he seems to have affairs with every woman in reach, including Sylvia. But now their relationship is on the rocks, and Sylvia comes to work sad and tearful. But she decides to resign by going on-air and, instead of giving the scripted weather cast, she goes off on a tirade against Dale. She leaves, but the audience likes what they saw and rating go up. This eventually leads to their wanting her to return.In the meantime Sylvia, broke with no job, crashes with her 25-ish younger brother, Ryan Devlin, also a TV veteran, as Walt. This provides for some very funny sibling interactions. Adding to the humor is Patrick J. Adams, another TV veteran, as Byron, the 25-ish cross-the-hall neighbor and good friend of Walt's who visits every day to use Walt's computer to do his online job. Byron is unashamedly smitten with Sylvia, 10 years his senior, and spends much of the movie's running time trying to convince her that they have an ideal situation for dating without any attachment.We enjoyed it.

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.

OK, there you are, streaming away on Netflix, and you have watched all of your top want-to-see-list movies - and now you are searching for something else that catches your eye. Been there, did that...and then I clicked on the little Romantic Comedy "Weather Girl", staring an actress I personally never really noticed before. And WOW! Great job Tricia O'Kelley! I really like it when the actors can interact so seamlessly that it feels natural and spontaneous - instead of some rehearsed lines said in a movie. Weather Girl's cast pulled this off perfectly. Watching and listening to O'Kelley and her cast-mates witty comebacks and banter is what really made this movie enjoyable for me. I find myself wanting to watch it again... It would be easy to classify this as another boy-meets-girl/date-night chick-flick, but I found it to be a well acted, clever & entertaining movie. Sit back and watch it.