I'd a couple of buddies of mine tell me I needed to see this. One of them tends bar at a couple places. The other is a Csci professor. Considering it's a rare thing for the two of them to agree on anything, I figured I should bump this up in the 'Flix queue.
This film is incredible if only for the following reason : this is a fucking great flick almost solely because of Bill Pullman. Yes, you read that correctly. Bill fucking Pullman. Bill "I ain't made a decent movie since 'Spaceballs'" Pullman.
This film is about 80% Pullman, 10% Ben Stiller, & 10% Kim Dickens.
Bill Pullman is Daryl Zero, the world's greatest private eye. He is the most impartial, calculating observer in the world because he has completely divorced himself of any passion & can remain objective in any situation. However, that skill has made him void of anything resembling a life or social skills. He stays in his place all the time. He never meets his clients. Never goes out, anywhere, unless it's a case. He'll be up for days at a time amp'd doing research. His personal representative is Steve Arlo (Stiller). Stiller flies back & forth between Zero & potential clients. He sets up all the details & becomes Zero's assistant during cases. This way of life coupled w\ Zero's personality is pissing off Arlo's woman. This leads to tension between Zero & Arlo.
This is a film dealing w\ duality. It's set up in the first few minutes. When Arlo is w\ a potential client, he does nothing but talk up Zero's abilities. Zero IS the best detective in the world, bar none. He has solved cases from him home in an hour that international authorities couldn't solve w\ months of fieldwork. The cut then goes to a bar where Arlo is drinking w\ his buddy. There, aside from a couple more compliments about Zero on the job, he carves up Zero when he's not on the job. He's a prick. He never leaves his house. He's an unreasonable fucker. He can't do anything for himself. He can't even interact w\ anyone else except Arlo. & herein lies what the film explores. It's all a zero sum game. Everything. Giving something means you take away something. Zero may be the greatest P.I. in the world, but he's a failure as a social being. The rest of the flick deals w\ Zero having to switch between his persona(s) when he's on the job & his own personality (or perhaps lack thereof) when he's forced to interact w\ someone on a personal level.
Verdict : 4.5 stars. This is one of the best flicks I'd never heard of till a couple months ago. See it.
At 'Dem Flicks w\ Malcolm - Zero Effect
I saw this one a few years back and I completely agree. Great low budget film. Zero was one of the most interesting characters dreamed up in a while. Interesting like the bounty hunter in "Objects in Space" from Firefly (I rate him the most interesting character ever made for a TV series).
"... and then I was forced to walk the Trail of Tears." - Elizabeth Warren