Zero Effect Review
by Chuck Dowling (chuckd21 AT leading DOT net)October 11th, 1998
Zero Effect (1998)
*** out of *****
Cast: Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller, Kim Dickens, Ryan O'Neal, Angela Featherstone
Written and Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Running Time: 115 minutes
Zero Effect is a modern day, 1990s style Sherlock Holmes story. Every element of a Holmes tale is here, from the eccentric detective to the loyal assistant to the drug use... its all blatently there. I'm not a big Holmes fan, but this update isn't so bad.
Bill Pullman plays the brilliant yet socially disturbed detective Darryl Zero. He can solve cases merely by sitting and thinking about them, with the help of course of tuna fish, tomato soup, Tab, and lots of drugs. He accepts his cases through his faithful assistant, played by Ben Stiller. In the film, he works a case for businessman Ryan O'Neal, investigating just who is blackmailing him. And despite the fact that Zero seems to solve the case right away (the first 15 minutes of the film actually), he keeps investigating. Obviously, Zero believes there's more to it that what he's uncovered.
Zero Effect is unbelievably slow going, yet somehow remains compelling enough to make it watchable until the very end. The performances are all good, particularly Pullman. Also, the film feels like it's a black comedy, but instead it comes across as merely quirky. A laugh or two would have been nice.
Zero Effect is the debut from Kasdan, who just so happens to be the son of writer-director Lawrence Kasdan. [R]
The Jacksonville Film Journal -- Film Reviews by Chuck Dowling URL: http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/
Email: [email protected]
© 1995-1998 of The Jacksonville Film Journal. No reviews may be reprinted without permission.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
