Here's an offbeat film for you. A story about a genius private eye, who may be "the greatest observer the world has ever known" -- a sort of modern-day Sherlock Holmes. But here's the twist. He's also, as his Watson-like employee Steve Arlo (Ben Stiller) tells it, "like some kind of recluse, a complete freak -- no social life, in fact no social skills." A guy who is literally "too uncomfortable in his own skin to go out to eat."
The guy is Daryl Zero (played by Bill Pullman) and the movie is oddly enough called "Zero Effect". It opens with a terrific Elvis Costello song, "Mystery Dance". I love Elvis Costello, so I like the film already (as it turns out, the song does resonate very well).
The movie's plot involves wealthy Ryan O'Neal, who is missing the key to his safe deposit box (the contents of which he won't divulge). He's being blackmailed by someone about those contents, however, so he hires Zero (who he never actually meets) to solve the case. That, of course, means Mr. Zero will have to leave his high security apartment.
Rated R for language, "Zero Effect" was written and directed by Jake Kasdan. He's the son of Lawrence Kasdan, who gave us notable films like "Body Heat", "The Big Chill", and "Grand Canyon". It's the younger Kasdan's first film and it's a nice piece of writing.
The movie has a goofy sort of charm. It suggests that those who pursue being the best in their careers are probably coming up short in other areas of their lives. (Consider this: I don't recall Sherlock Holmes ever marrying.) Zero is a cool, brilliant professional on the one hand and a social mess on the other. And when the investigation leads him to romance, we anticipate his getting sloppy; we're eager for the slip-up we know is coming. "Passion is the enemy of precision," we have learned.
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