Zero Effect

There is one thing that makes this film special and that is the persona of Daryl Zero. He is played in a spectacular way by Bill Pullman, who makes the script take life, making simple lines sound really funny and interesting!

Guy Ritchie probably copied a great many things from this film and from the way Pullman plays Daryl Zero in his Sherlock films with RDJ.

So yes, this is a film Sherlock-style with a detective and a sidekick investigating a case.

The dialogues are strong, the acting is strong by all the leads, the music score is very nice, and its definitely one of the 90s films that you will enjoy watching nowadays.

I have to say that I was surprised by Pullman; i had no idea he can act like that (judging him only from independence day and other mainstream films).

In this film he had an opportunity to make this character one of the coolest cinematic detectives I have seen.

Kudos to Jake Kasdan for directing and writing; this is solid film-making.

You can tell the enthusiasm in making this film by the camerawork, props, editing and ofcourse the delivery of the lines and the acting; all the actors are giving their best (and Ben Stiller is toned down to a normal person here...).

Highly recommended if you are looking to see something cool and funny. 9/10.

This was a really pleasant surprise. I didn't know what to expect before watching this film, but what I got was a great movie that featured some really good performances. Stiller and O'Neal are solid, but the always-likeable Bill Pullman is the real standout here. There are lots of great moments in this film, many of them comedic, and except for an occasionally slow pace during the second half, I was greatly entertained throughout. Definitely worth checking out this movie.

OK, I thought this was an excellent movie. Having said that, where is the credit to Arthur Conan Doyle? When movies are based on the works of Shakespeare, such as modern day versions of Hamlet and Macbeth they always credit Shakespeares works.

Compare Zero Effect to A Scandal in Bohemia.

Compare the character Zero to Holmes: 1. both use drugs 2. both play a musical instrument 3. both apply astounding powers of observation to solve cases 4. both use disguises 5. both are loners who rely on their intermediaries (Watson/Arlo)

In Zero Effect, Arlo deals with conflicts between his romantic life and Zero's need of him to function. In A Scandal In Bohemia, Watson has recently married and Holmes and Waston must deal with the issue.

The first line of A Scandal In Bohemia reads: "To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman."

Guess what, in the end Sherlock doesn't get the girl and he admires her as his most capable adversary. I guess Doyle must have a copy of Zero Effect stashed away somewhere.

Again, I will say I thought is was a fantastic movie. I'm not always a big fan of Pullman, but he was excellent in the role. If you are considering not watching this movie because you don't like Ben Stiller, well don't let that stop you. He takes his normal persona down a couple notches. Don't expect to see any traces of Zoolander or Meet the Parents.

I loved ZERO EFFECT and would heartily recommend the film to anyone who enjoys a great story told with great style and wit. Jake Kasdan is in his early 20's and has written and directed a wonderful film that belies his age and relative inexperience. I take my hat off to him. On this evidence he is a major talent and I can't wait to see what he does next.

When I heard about the plot of ZERO EFFECT, the story of an eccentric and reclusive, private detective and that this part would be played by Bill Pullman, I was sold on the film immediately. Bill Pullman is a wonderful actor who I admire greatly and is always a joy to watch on screen. The part of Daryl Zero is a very tricky one and very few actors could pull it off, but Bill was simply brilliant. The scene where we hear Daryl playing his guitar and singing a song but don't actually see him for about three minutes was perhaps the most wonderful introduction of a character I've seen in any film.

Ben Stiller provides sterling support as Daryl's right hand man and Ryan O'Neal (nice to see him again) and Kim Dickens are also terrific.

There are so many great lines in the film, particularly those where Daryl is explaining his methods of deduction and surveillance. His explanation of the best way to follow someone is priceless, as is his explanation on how to find things !

This film is a pure joy and very refreshing. Go see it !

This movie seemed to fall flat in many places. It opened slow and never really picked up a lot of steam. That being said, the story is engaging and very well-written. The dialogue, though...I thought the dialogue was a little poor. Jake Kasdan might be better served finding a screen writing partner to jazz up the dialogue. Maybe I'm a little spoiled by Monk (which I realize came later), but I didn't find the main character all that endearing. Mostly his traits were just annoying and not fully conceived--for instance the weird scene with him playing the guitar...which never comes up again. Why add in that particular moment unless it's going to play a part later on? The camera-work was excellent, with lots of long steady-cam shots. One place where I thought the film shone was in its use of music. I usually don't even notice the soundtrack, but on this one it really stood out as being well-selected. Ben Stiller usually bugs the crap out of me, but his performance was restrained and I actually liked him a lot more than Bill Pullman's detective character.

7/10