THE WEATHER MAN. Courtesy of the New York Observer, I had free tickets to preview The Weather Man tonight. I wasn't sure whether I should go, but I'm glad I went ahead and saw it.

A seriocomic look at the life of a Chicago schlemiel, The Weather Man turned out to be unusually literate and "true." I don't want to ruin it by giving away details (except for a minor spoiler at the end of this paragraph), so I'll just say that it reminds me a lot of one of my very favorite American films, Chilly Scenes of Winter (a.k.a. Head Over Hells) and compares well with About Schmidt, Sideways, and the movies of Todd Solondz. And here's the spoiler: The movie depicts an archery range in Central Park. If only.