On Tuesday (Oct. 19), The Weather Channel thought it would blow everyone away announcing that it would start airing theatrical feature films, beginning with …
“The Perfect Storm.”
Well, if you’re going to be all obvious about it, Weather Channel. I mean, if you’re trying to make waves, this is barely a ripple. It’s the safe choice, catering to the masses with that likable George Clooney. It even has “storm” in the freakin’ title!
May I suggest a more savory, yet equally harrowing addition to your Friday-night lineup?
“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” based on the literary tour de force of the same name, revolves around the town of Chewandswallow, where one rebel scientist takes on the burden of ending world hunger.
His concept: food from the sky. That’s right, palatable precipitation, well-done weather, rain for the ravenous. At first, all goes well. Hamburgers hail down …
kids taste the rainbow …
and get their much-needed Vitamin C …
but as with any major weather occurrence …
there’s a downside. Some of it’s minor, like a baseball game being called on account of pie …
but then there’s the carb-laden carnage, the nightmare of any Atkins disciple. When a spaghetti and meatball twister hits, hubris will have to take a backseat as the well-meaning scientist comes to the realization there’s a price to pay when you mess with Mother Nature.
Yes, like “Jurassic Park,” this cautionary tale addresses the idea that “they were so busy trying to see if they could do it they never stopped to think if they should.”
“Cloudy” is the ultimate instructional family film that will open up a much-needed dialogue about climate and nutrition between parents and bewildered kids. Detractors who scoff at the film’s more fantastical elements should check out the even more ridiculous “Day After Tomorrow.”
And if we learned one positive thing from the overblown Balloon Boy hoax, it’s that it’s never too early to contribute to the delinquency of a minor inculcate budding meteorologists with a fearless curiosity and imagination to innovate.
