ZERO EFFECT (1998)
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4.0) ******************************** Key to rating system: 2.0 stars - Debatable 2.5 stars - Some people may like it 3.0 stars - I liked it 3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie 4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out ********************************* A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Written by: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller, Ryan O'Neal, Kim Dickens
Ingredients: Eccentric private detective, millionaire client, beautiful blackmailer,
Synopsis: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote four novels and later five books of short stories concerning the exploits of fictional super-detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson. Surprisingly, in the stories Sherlock Holmes uses both morphine and cocaine, which are both over-the-counter legal drugs at the time. ZERO EFFECT is based on A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA, a short story which can be found in the book THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.
In A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA, Sherlock Holmes initially belittles the intelligence of women and abhors romantic attraction: "all emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind. He was the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has ever seen, but as a lover....He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer."
A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA begins with formerly inseparable pals Holmes and Watson growing apart due to Watson's recent marriage. Holmes is a violin-playing druggie, "alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature."
A rich and powerful king named Wilhelm has committed (sexual) indiscretions, and a beautiful American woman named Irene Adler has the photographic evidence. Fearing future blackmail, the king launches a preemptive strike; he hires a bunch of thugs to harass Irene and burglarize her home. But they fail to locate the incriminating photo, and the king ends up hiring Holmes to steal the photo from Irene.
Holmes dons a disguise and Irene takes him in, thinking he is a kind gentleman. But once she figures out Holmes' identity Irene flees, informing Holmes by mail that the real thug is King Wilhelm, since he's the one harassing her in order to wipe out all knowledge and evidence of his dirty deeds. Humbled and outsmarted by the end of the story, Holmes adopts a new respect for women. Watson notices, "And whenever he [Holmes] speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honorable title of the woman."
Similarly, ZERO EFFECT begins with formerly inseparable ace detective Darryl Zero (Bill Pullman) and his sidekick Arlo (Ben Stiller) growing apart due to Arlo's fiancee and recent marriage proposal. Darryl Zero is a guitar-playing thirty-something, strung-out surfer dude detective, alternating between amphetamines and deductive brilliance. Somewhat of a writer, Zero writes about his own effect on people: the "Zero" effect is when Darryl Zero's observations and interventions change the outlook of a client.
Their client, a rich and powerful Portland tycoon named Stark (Ryan O'Neal) , fears blackmail. Stark has committed a crime, and a beautiful lady paramedic named Gloria (Kim Dickens) has the incriminating evidence. Frustrated, Stark hires Zero.
Zero poses as an accountant and Gloria takes him into her home, sparking a romance which catches the romantically challenged Zero by surprise. Eventually she figures out he is Darryl Zero and flees. Of course, the real thug is Stark, since his ultimate plan is to kill her in order to wipe out all knowledge and evidence of his crime. Wiser at the end of the story, Zero notes that Gloria did the "Zero Effect" on him. In other words Gloria's observations and intervention in Darryl's life permanently changed him.
Opinion: ZERO EFFECT is the directorial debut of Jake Kasdan, son of Lawrence Kasdan, a writer-director. It is a solid detective movie with interesting twists. In the beginning the main characters seem somewhat stiff and loony. For example, Bill Pullman goes overboard in an early drugged-out guitar playing scene while Ben Stiller is as stiff and straight as a DRAGNET cop. But soon - - as the characters begin to take on life and actions - - they develop a kind of depth. By the middle of the film, you have genuinely entertaining stuff, and you are hooked enough into the plot to go all the way to the end. If you can ignore the initial weirdo guitar scene, ZERO EFFECT is watchable, unpredictable, and entertaining.
Reviewed by David Sunga February, 1998
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