Zero Effect |  | Actors: Aleta Barthell, J.W. Crawford, Sarah DeVincentis, Kim Dickens, David Doty
Studio: Turner Home Ent
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $7.50
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Rating:  68 reviews
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 2
Picture Format: Array
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 116 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.6
MPN: WARDC2534D
ISBN: 0780623223
UPC: 053939253429
EAN: 9780780623224
Theatrical Release Date: January 30, 1998
Release Date: July 14, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Hes a genius on the job and a basket case in life. With sharp insight detective daryl zero and his sidekick zero in on crime. But when love zeroes in on zero the worlds greatest sleuth suddenly doesnt have a clue. Studio: Castle Rock Hm Video Release Date: 07/14/1998 Starring: Bill Pullman Ben Stiller Run time: 116 minutes Rating: R Director: Jake Kasdan
Amazon.com
Zero Effect follows private investigator Daryl Zero and Steve Arlo, his reluctant representative, through one particularly tangled case involving blackmail, murder, revenge, and a set of lost keys. Zero is the world's best private investigator, suave and totally in control while on a case, but socially inept when off the job. The diversely talented and prolific Bill Pullman is excellently cast as Zero, switching seamlessly from one persona to the next, and the ever-charming Ben Stiller is his perfect sidekick. In a deadpan description of his method, or the "Zero Effect," Zero details his brilliance for Sherlock Holmes-like deductions, based on his strict adherence to objectivity and observation, or, in Zero parlance, "the obs." Somewhat predictably the obs falter when the case of the missing keys brings Zero to Gloria Sullivan, a winsome and mysterious paramedic played by Kim Dickens. Thankfully, writer-director Jake Kasdan is no less brilliant than the Zero he creates, and the potential corniness of the developing romance is balanced by a razor-sharp wit and the nail-biting suspense of the unfolding plot. --Laska Jimsen
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 68
Very Good Detective Movie October 9, 2009
Jonathan Reich (Tucson, AZ United States)
Saw this a while back and it is a movie to watch again. Let me list the strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths: Good acting especially with the leads: Bill Pullman and Kim Dickens who have a great chemistry. Writing and Story: A well written yarn obviously with nods to other stories. What I love is that it is an intelligent story with some realism and where the characters use their minds and hearts. There is no chase scene. There is no action. But there is suspense because of the story. That is what makes this movie stand out -- that Jake Kashdan, could make a really intriguing movie without tricks. Zero actually solves the whodunnit very early on and yet the movie continues on intriguing because of who actually did it and why that person is doing it.
Weaknesses: What keeps me from giving this movie a 5 star rating is that there are some inconsistencies to it. It almost looks like the movie started as more of a crazy comedy and then became more reigned in as a more serious effort. Once the movie gets going, the over the top comedy is toned down to smart humor and just smart writing. Some of the directing is way overdone such as a restaurant scene with Stiller and O'Neal where the director (maybe for a technical reason) does not feel comfortable showing the actors and pans in from a low under the table view which always annoys me to no end. Stiller did a good job but ultimately his character is whiny beyond what he has a right to be. The stuff with Stiller and his girlfriend is more a detracting plot device than anything else. I understand why it was important for the main character to lose his "Dr. Watson" but it was not executed real well.
Great scenes: The fire alarm scene. Stiller in the park (with the rental kid)with O'Neal. Stiller & O'Neal outside the motel. The office search scene. The planetarium scene. The gun shooting scene. The ice cream and bed scene. The airport with Dickens scene. The hotel mattress scene. The blow up with Stiller and Pullman scene in the hotel scene.
Overall a real entertaining but flawed movie that is worthwhile owning as it stands up to multiple viewings. Enjoy!
Zero Effect January 13, 2009
C. A. Luster (Burke, VA USA)
Daryl Zero is one of the most peculiar private investigators you will ever meet. His quirks make you more fond of him for in fact they show his humanity. Some may think of him like a modern Sherlock Holmes. Afterall both are brilliant and passionate about their work. Holmes had a case involving a spy once that he fell for and her demise hurt him deeply. Although this case is not about spies, it is a complicated case involving missing keys, an old tape, a lock box, blackmail, and a murder scene that takes time to unravel. Zero is assisted by Steve Arlo, a lawyer that is capable at keeping Daryls identity hidden, being the face the clients see, and good at some background casework as well. Once we see all the pieces of the puzzle we are happy to have been let in on the case and the outcome. It may not be clear as to the fate of the woman Zero falls in love with, but we have an idea there is a chance he will meet her again. As for Zero's case name, brevity is something he needs to become familiar with if he plans to sell it to a publisher. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The cast really do a superb job in their roles and the story was interesting and kept me drawn to the movie. Anyone in your family that enjoys good mysteries probably will like it. Good quality DVD with plenty of replayability. If you enjoyed this catch "Bloodwork".
CA Luster
 Very clever...but not involving November 29, 2008
LGwriter (Astoria, N.Y. United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The ideas here are very clever. But this turns out to be more of a "tell the audience what's going on" movie than show them. People talk about what they're going to do, what they've done, what they're doing. There's a lot of talk and little action. For some kinds of movies, that's fine. But for this kind of movie it just doesn't seem to quite work. Of course you can consider this to be a very offbeat detective story, which is what it is, true. But the characters are just not involving enough to counterbalance the offbeat quality of the movie.
We don't really get a fully humanized portrait of Daryl Zero, the title character. As for his assistant, Steve Arlo, we know he's getting tired of working with Zero, but that seems to be the main trait that comes across characterizing him, which doesn't do much to flesh him out either. As for the "bad guy", Ryan O'Neal, he's bland. Zero's love interest, played by Kim Dickens, is the most fully realized character in the movie but when you bounce that characterization against someone who we don't have a fully developed character for, it just doesn't feel like there's a legit reason for the two of them to hook up.
I gave this three stars because the ideas are sharp. I wish I could say it was a movie that pulled me in, but it really left me pretty cold.
 1998's Best Film.... August 17, 2008
James Burns
IIRC, this film only saw limited release in art house theatres for a few weeks in 1998. This was probably the best film of 1998, and it is surely one of the best films you've never heard of. It succeeds as a slapstick Ben Stiller comedy, a serious drama, and most of all, an intriguing Sherlock Holmes style mystery. All the performances are great, Ben Stiller as a long suffering legal investigator for the criminally underrated Bill Pullman's master PI, Daryl Zero, Kim Dickens as the mysterious "woman in trouble", and Ryan O'Neal as a wealthy industrialist caught in a dangerous web of intrigue. Add in the unique on location set of Portland, a cool alternative soundtrack, and you have a truly great, original film. Get it now!
More clued out than clue-driven July 22, 2008
Peter Beyer (Dortmund)
THE first film from Jake Kasdan, the son of famed director Lawrence Kasdan (Pacific Heights, The Big Chill), is a detective comedy that works off a premise so obvious it's surprising it hasn't been exploited more often.
Zero Effect steals the Sherlock Holmes mystery formula and places it into a contemporary context. The problem with Kasdan's film is that it doesn't get much beyond this modestly clever idea. Mixing excessive plot intricacies and broad, quirky comedy, the film ends up as a mildly puzzling sophomoric diversion.
The self-styled "world's greatest detective" is Daryl Zero, played by Bill Pullman (Independence Day). He's a twitchy character, hair askew, eyes glazed and living in Howard Hughes-like isolation. As is often the case, Pullman seems to be in an acting class of his own, experiencing complicated inner surges and thoughts that don't have much to do with his character.
This is hardly the "cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind" of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective, though the parallels are deliberate. Instead of cocaine, Zero imbibes amphetamines; instead of playing the violin, he plays loud, squawky confessional songs on his acoustic guitar. But armed with the latest in information-gathering technology and arcane knowledge -- bylaws governing motel bed placement for the past 30 years -- Zero solves cases with magical precision. The Watson of the story, Steve Arlo, is played robotically by Ben Stiller (Flirting with Disaster). He's a resentful sidekick who gets drunk and complains incessantly about his employer while trying desperately to have an ordinary romantic life after office hours. He works as a front man for Zero, maintaining strict client confidentiality, and collecting big fees.
At the beginning of the film, Arlo is in a meeting with lumber tycoon Gregory Stark (Ryan O'Neal), a client of Zero's who is searching for missing keys to a safety deposit box, but who is also being blackmailed for a secret he will not reveal. In short order, Zero has figured out who is doing the blackmailing: a paramedic (a tough gamine played by Kim Dickens, who makes a strong impression here as she does in Great Expectations) who works at Stark's health club. In his quest to expose her motives, Zero gradually finds himself falling in love for the first time in his life, a fallibility that never afflicted Sherlock Holmes.
The movie then changes directions to concentrate on the love story, while Arlo continues his quest to break free of his boss so he can enjoy a fling of his own. The plot is complicated, relying on Zero's weird knowledge and observational skills. But the momentum is gone long before the movie ends and one is left only with a faint sense of curiosity. Like listening to Frank Sinatra sing Stevie Wonder, it's interesting, but why bother? Conrad Alton, Filmbay Editor.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 68
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