Father of Invention

I dont know whats wrong with the audience, this movie falls under comedy and drama genre and it is a good comedy movie! I was smiling all the way through the movie. Really enjoyed it.

Stupendously dumb movie. Complete waste of time, and pretty cringe-worthy to see Spacey struggling with the weak script, the flat acting and cramped humour.

Most scenes appear blatant and set up with an idiotic take on what should be the structure of a 'fabrication' of a riches-to-ashes meets my-daddy-is my hero tale.

Just watch 'The Pursuit of Happiness' backwards followed by 'Meet the parents', throw in some amateur level editing and Uwe Boll talent for delivering and you get the idea.

Definitely Spacey's worst performance and most certainly one of those titles in which most times you'll be asking yourself 'Oh Kevin, what did you do?'.

If avoidable you really should.

Also, it seems all other (three!) reviews are dupes. Which is why I felt the need to share this.

Even first rate actors like Kevin Spacey cannot save a film just on their name alone, they need a better script to work with. In this case Kevin Spacey plays a successful multi-millionaire inventor named Robert Axle who ends up serving a 10 year prison term for inventing and releasing prematurely an exercise machine that severs fingers from a number of purchasers. Robert Axle invested his whole life in marketing his inventions and no time what so ever with his little girl, played by Camilla Belle, or his ex wife Lorraine played by Virginia Madsen.

When Axle gets out of prison not only is his name poison with the large retail giants, but his ex wife has remarried to a Forest Ranger named Jerry King played by Craig Robinson, and they have slowly squandered a fortune of over 200 million dollars. Axle's only daughter Claire, played by Camilla Belle still suffers from latent child abandonment issues. So life has been cruel to Robert Axle these past 10 years in prison. He first befriends his daughters two roommates, who agree to give up their couch to Robert rather than have to watch him live in a men's shelter for too long.

In an effort to redeem himself and regain his Midas touch with a new invention, Axle goes to work at the fourth largest retail chain named Family World, whose immediate Assistant Store Manager is a guy named Troy Coangelo, played superbly by Johnny Knoxville. Axle and Troy don't see eye to eye on the store's priorities and as such Axle's career at Family World is short lived. Desperate to make amends with his daughter Claire, Axle does come up with a new invention but can't find an investor willing to risk financing a dead beat and felony ex convict like Axle.

Eventually he does find one investor and he also makes amends with his daughter. Yes, there are a few sentimental tear jerker scenes between father and daughter but not quite enough good film value for me to recommend Father Of Invention for your viewing pleasure.

As a result I rate the film a 5 out of 10. Viewer beware of a weak script with little decent content.

"Father of Invention" stars Kevin Spacey as a fabricator, an infomercial king, who combines existing products into new ones. Problem is he was in jail, now he has lost his empire, and lost his family. The key word in the title is father. The entire film is him trying to reconnect with his daughter (Camilla Belle).

Spacey has frequently played fathers trying to reconnect with their daughter, the prime example being "American Beauty" (1999). Not that one is likely to confuse the two films, but there's an underlying similarity about the pursuit of success and the pursuit of family. That's what "Father of Invention" is about but it doesn't actually explore those issues.

It's also supposed to be a comedy, but because it was just him and his daughter there was nothing clever that catches you off-guard to make you laugh. The daughter (whom, by the way, I have already forgotten her name) lives with two roommates. One is in love with Kevin Spacey (whom I have also forgotten his character's name) and the other is a lesbian. There was no slow reveal for any of this. Those facts were just presented as if they create whole characters.

The conflict which this builds to isn't surprising (it's part of the mandate for dysfunctional family dramedies) or even interesting since we never did care for the characters in the first place. "Father of Invention" certainly didn't invent anything and there's nothing special about the daughter or the father.

Don't listen to the critics who pan this movie. Yes, it is predictable, and obvious. But the movie doesn't preach, condescend, take itself (too) seriously, or take its precious time going somewhere. This is actually better than I expected. No question about it, "Father of Invention" is great entertainment, and very effective. You don't have to be a "genius" to enjoy this movie. I could have done without the subplot regarding Heather Graham's lesbian character. I didn't feel it was necessary. It's just a plot device. And I would have loved to see John Stamos a lot more. With an interesting character as his, that one scene wasn't enough. Although he is mentioned near the end of the film. If you're looking for a quality movie to watch (and enjoy Kevin Spacey), this is that movie.

***1/2