Zero Effect? Far From It
Pullman Shines As Quirky Detective

Imagine if you will a detective on par with Sherlock Holmes but with the social skills of Howard Hughes in his later years. If you can visualize this, you've come close to understanding Daryl Zero, the mastermind detective played by Bill Pullman in the new comedy/mystery Zero Effect.

Daryl Zero is a dysfunctional, neurotic man, who locks himself away in a penthouse behind an insane security system. He drinks Tab by the gallon, overdoses on speed and information, and writes horrible songs in his spare time. Aside from all this, he can tell you what you had for breakfast thirty seconds after meeting you and can solve crimes by dialing one phone number. The man defines the line between genius and madness.

Zero is so ineffective outside of his job that he is forced to use a go-between to negotiate all his business. Playing Dr. Watson to his Sherlock Holmes is Ben Stiller as Steve Arlo, a former lawyer who has trouble reconciling his professional life and his private one.

As the story begins, Arlo is discussing his employer with a prospective client, Gregory Stark (Ryan O'Neal). In a series of cuts from this office setting, however, we also see Arlo discussing his boss with a friend. The two discussions counterpoint the duality of Zero's nature. He may be the most brilliant detective who ever lived, but it is obvious the man is also a raging lunatic.

Stark has sought Zero's help to recover his missing keys, lost now for a year. Those keys, he believes, have fallen into the hands of the person blackmailing him. One of the keys was to a safety deposit box, but he will not tell Zero what was in the safety deposit box or why he believes the person is blackmailing him. Just one more mystery for Zero to uncover.

In order to understand Stark, Zero begins trailing him, first in his health club and later as Stark makes the latest money drop to his blackmailer. Within one day Zero has uncovered the identity of the blackmailer, but withholds the information in an effort to understand the blackmailer's motives. Unfortunately for the socially inept Zero, he also starts to fall in love with Gloria Sullivan (Kim Dickens), a paramedic he met at the health club. This only adds to his confusion and inability to remain objective to the case.

In what has to be the most clever narration in a detective film, Daryl Zero decides to document his method of detective work (since Argo has shown no interest in doing so). Zero's strange narration offers some hilarious moments. Early on, he quips, "I always say the essence of my work relies fundamentally on two basic principles: Objectivity and Observation, or 'The Two Obs' as I call them." He also has the weird habit of naming his cases, like "The Case Of The Man With The Mismatched Shoelaces" and "The Case Of The Hired Gun Who Made Too Many Mistakes."

Pullman is absolutely brilliant as Daryl Zero. He easily swings between an insane madman in the privacy of his hotel, to a master of intrigue in the pursuit of the blackmailer. The cracks in his armor begin to show, however, when he gets close to Gloria. Pullman plays this perfectly, allowing vulnerability and not foolishness to come through. Dickens (who recently appeared in Great Expectations) does a nice job as Gloria, bringing him out of his shell by inches. Stiller is excellent as Zero's ill-tempered sidekick, and shows a fierce loyalty when pressed by Stark to reveal the name of the blackmailer.

Zero Effect was written and directed by 22 year-old Jake Kasdan, son of director Lawrence Kasdan. I look forward to more from this guy in the future. For his first feature film, he has set the bar pretty high. I hope he can follow it with more of the same.

MY RATING: 9 out of 10.

RATED:
RUN TIME: 115 min.

Zero Effect? Far From It Pullman Shines As Quirky Detective

Zero Effect? Far From It
Pullman Shines As Quirky Detective