That disaster can be chalked up to the man-made category, or more specifically the joint handiwork of Roland Emmerich, the director of the film, and Jeffrey Nachmanoff. The characters caught in the mess say and do stupid things, and lines are so banal they are often good for unintended laughs. All that's left is the opportunity to enjoy the effects, which is basically the point. Well, not quite.

The one element that does make sense is the depiction of a vice-president who doesn't take pleas about the environment seriously, at least until after disaster strikes and claims the life of the president. The experts, most notably Dennis Quaid as weather genius Jack Hall, spot what's happening when global warming cracks the ice up north and unleashes it into the oceans, which leads to violent storms and plunging temperatures. Whether the events are scientifically accurate hardly matters. It's just a movie. But the film, for all of its foolishness, does put the environment on the agenda, and who knows, given the mass marketing of this entertainment, it might resonate during an election year.

There's a really funny moment in "The Day After Tomorrow" when Mexico closes its borders because so many Americans are fleeing there, and the crowd at the Loews Lincoln Square Theater where I caught the film roared at the reversal. Another amusing moment occurred in the main New York Public Library, where those who have taken refuge try to keep warm by burning books in a fireplace, not a happy decision, but when someone calls out that some books on tax law have been found, there was another big laugh.