Diminished Capacity

Essentially you have here a "B" list cast of actors (Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen and Alan Alda) - none megastars, but all solid actors - who, as you would expect, put on decent enough performances. The problem with the movie is a story that misses its potential. I acknowledge that I haven't read the book. Maybe this worked better on paper, but on screen this was lacking.

Broderick played Cooper, an editor for a Chicago newspaper who suffers a head injury, and then is called away himself to help care for his uncle (Alan Alda) who's in the early stages of dementia. Madsen is some type of old flame for Cooper with whom he reconnects in his hometown. All three were fine in their roles but this movie had basically two directions in which it could have gone, did a little bit of both and, ultimately, because it had no focus on either, was a disappointment.

This could have been successful as a light-hearted comedy; a humorous look at dealing with the problems of dementia. Alda captured that well; he was believable as a dementia victim, and there were things like his fish-writing obsession that could have made this touchingly funny, but those moments were few and far between. Or, this could have gone the route of emotional drama, as we watch Alda's character of Rollie (and those around him) deal with his decline, but again those moments were few and far between. There was a moment when I thought the movie had made a choice - the very powerful scene when Rollie is missing and Cooper finds him in anguish in the bathroom at the card show; lost, confused and embarrassed at what's happened. But that moment also gets lost. Instead of that, the story focuses for some reason on the old baseball card - a 1909 Cubs card that Rollie's grandfather gave him as a keepsake and that he now wants to sell. Even that could have been touching enough, but the card ends up being used primarily as a prop for staging slapstick humour, especially the ridiculous "fight" scene at the end of the movie.

Also burdened with unnecessary characters (especially Donny, but even Madsen's Charlotte to an extent) this was really a disappointment. 3/10

I actually liked this film. It's a light-hearted look at people suffering from reduced mental capacity (memory loss, lapses in judgement) due to aging (portrayed by Alan Alda), or from post-concussion syndrome (portrayed by Matthew Broderick).

The main characters played their characters very well. Alan Alda especially did a remarkable acting job. Bravo Alan! I'm going to have to dig through the archives and see your earlier works as well. Very convincing as the elderly gentleman who's slowly losing his marbles while retaining a very charming outlook on life.

The storyline is quite simple. You're not watching this movie for a complex or compelling story but rather to watch the characters and how their relationships evolve with each other. Of course there has to be a romantic interest thrown in and although that was maybe one of the lesser parts of this movie, Virginia Madsen plays her part well and looks very fetching as a 40-something single mother.

7/10

Good watchable indy movie in the vein of "Little Miss Sunshine". Liked the ensemble of quirky characters with their mental and other problems. Alan Alda is quite good as the elderly man with Diminished Capacity with a valuable baseball card to sell. His mental problems aren't overdone. His nephew trying to help is played by the quite well cast Matthew Broderick though he is a bit puffy looking. Virginia Madsen looks quite pretty with her lovely face. She is a bit broad in the mid section. Bobby Cannavale is quite good in his intense over the top role. It's not one to watch more than once like Sunshine or Sideways, but it's worth one watch.

I saw this film last night and I really enjoyed it. It showcased some human elements that have been forgotten by Hollywood. Sense of family, memories and bonds that are easily dismissed in today's world. Wonderful performances by the whole cast, especially Alan Alda and Matthew Broderick. Two comedic legends, but what touched me was the compassion that both their characters showed for each other. It was a comedy but personally, I found the sweetness more compelling than the comedy. I would recommend it for people who prefer dialogue and listening to the characters to the standard big noise movies that seem to dominate the film world.

This film is about a journalist with post concussion syndrome and his demented uncle on road trip to sell a precious baseball card.

"Diminished Capacity" is surprisingly engaging. The plot is well written, even tiny details are attended to. It has that special charm to engage viewers. The characters are all likable and authentic, and I really care about them. Alan Alda is amazingly convincing as a demented person. Little by little, his dementia is portrayed beautifully, from the burnt bacon to misplacing the card. One annoyingly implausible thing though, is why would no one help in the fight at the end. That dampens the credibility of the plot, but on the whole it is well written and executed.