Touches You

Powerful

Great Film overall

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Good acting in this one, especially with the leads: Bill Pullman and Kim Dickens who have a great chemistry. A well written yarn obviously with nods to other stories. What I love is that it is an intelligent story with some realism and where the characters use their minds and hearts. There is no chase scene. There is no action. But there is suspense because of the story. That is what makes this movie stand out that Jake Kashdan, could make a really intriguing movie without tricks. Zero actually solves the whodunnit very early on and yet the movie continues on intriguing because of who actually did it and why that person is doing it.It is a new director and it shows some. There appears to be a change in tone. The movie starts out more absurd and then changes as the case gets on. Secondly there are some directorial decisions which are questionable such as a long tracking shot from under a table which has little meaning and detracts. You also have the subplot with Arlo and his girlfriend which could have been eliminated. Films seem to need a whiny woman as a subplot for some reason that I can't explain. All the parts are very well acted, and Stiller is no exception. Bill Pullman does a terrific job, as a the genius, but socially incompetent, and seriously (but brilliantly) disturbed Darryl Zero. There are comparisons to Holmes, including a reference to the effect that he does not have the luxury of having a Watson to record his methods, and chronicle his cases... and so: "I'm forced to do it myself." Like Holmes, he misses nothing and anticipates everything, but the way that Darryl explains his "methods" (in that soft style of Bill Pullman) are so brilliant, and so true, that his explanations (as brilliant as they are) seem so obvious, so as to be humorous...Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

"Zero Effect" (1998) is a comedy/drama starring Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller, Ryan O'Neal, and Kim Dickens. Bill Pullman is Daryl Zero, a combination of Howard Hughes and Sherlock Holmes - an eccentric recluse with amazing deductive powers. Ben Stiller is Steve Arlo, his representative with the clients. The job is taking a toll on Steve's relationship with his girlfriend Jess. A high-powered man (O'Neal) is being blackmailed and, through Steve, hires Daryl Zero to find out who is blackmailing him and also to recover some keys that he lost. He believes the keys have given the blackmailer information he shouldn't have. Darryl works on the case hands-on, though distancing himself from the client, and becomes entangled with a paramedic (Dickens) whom he believes has something to do with the case.The acting is very good, particularly from Pullman and Stiller, and the script by writer/director Jake Kasdan is good, with some quirky twists. Unfortunately he also has his main character, the brilliant Daryl Zero, make a couple of stupid slips to facilitate the plot. No fair! All in all, "Zero Effect" is an odd film - it's not really a comedy, actually coming off more like a drama, and it's very low-key in its delivery, which is surprising with someone like Stiller in the cast. And it's quite absorbing, not at all a "zero effect."

I couldn't find the planetarium in the Movie. I saw it on TV so I can't back it up to check the name, but it was something like MacRidges or MacFadridge, Does anyone know if there is really such a planetarium or did they make up the name? It would seem silly to do so. I did enjoy the movie, and to me too it seemed a precursor of Monk. I also don't think we'll ever get bored with the Holmes and Watson combination theme either. Overall a great whodunit with plenty of plot twists and foreshadowing. Ben Stiller was great as usual in his supporting role. I wouldn't mind seeing a Zero 2 myself. I was impressed with the directing and also the photography in this movie. It was clear, easy to see, and therefore easier to follow the plot.

Frankly I loved this movie, which is kind of an update of the classic eccentric genius, Sherlock Holmes. Bill Pullman plays a nerdy bachelor (Darrel Zero) who is "The greatest private eye in the world" and Ben Stiller is his somewhat put upon assistant. Like Holmes, Zero has uncanny investigative skills, and is given to pithy maxims and asides regarding how he does his work. Ryan O'Neal plays an unlikeable tycoon (Stark) with a secret or two, and who hires Zero to help him out with his problem, which revolves around the loss of a safe deposit box key and blackmail. The rest of the story is an entertaining series of plot twists and turns. The gentle and less than heavy handed humor mixes well with the inevitable skullduggery that ensues. The ending is such that you rather hope for a sequel, which unfortunately never materialized. An under-appreciated gem.