"Fucking whales? Fuck the whales!"
Zero Effect is the directorial debut of Jake Kasdan (Freaks and Geeks, Orange County), son of legendary writer/director Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes, Raiders of the Lost Ark), and it stars Bill "Chill" Pullman as the film's protagonist, Daryl Zero. Daryl Zero is a brilliant private investigator known for being very reclusive and having impeccable deductive reasoning. Due to Zero being a recluse, his assistant Steve Arlo (played by Ben Stiller in a co-headlining role) does the representative work in the field while Zero works from afar. Zero is basically a modern day Sherlock Holmes, and Arlo is his Watson. Both Watson and Arlo had to deal with the eccentricities of their employers and how it effected their private lives ( Dont know that much about Sherlock Holmes though. I've only seen the three episode television series that aired on PBS a few weeks ago). This dilemma comes to the forefront half-way through the movie where Arlo's girlfriend suggests that he retire, a decision Arlo has been struggling with for awhile. Why put up with a guy who writes terrible songs on his guitar and snorts amphetamines on a daily basis? Zero "needs" Arlo despite his actions and his unwillingness to show it.
The opening scene consists of Arlo and Gregory Stark (a leather-faced Ryan O Neal) sitting across from each other in an office building where Arlo is referring to Daryl Zero's services. Stark hires Zero to find out who is blackmailing him as well as to find a safety deposit key. During this meeting with Stark, Arlo has nothing but high praise for Zero, because that is what his job entails. The opposite occurs when he's talking about Zero with his friend in a dimly-lit bar. Instead of praise, Arlo delivers a character assassination of Zero and the viewer realizes that Arlo truly hates what he's doing right now. Poor Arlo went from working in a law firm to working for a guy that doesn't appreciate him. His only consolation in life is his ridiculously attractive soon-to-be fiance on any given night. Moments after we meet Arlo, there is a shot of a guitar being played out of tune, this is the first appearance from our hero ten minutes into the movie.
Zero lives in a well constructed sort of labyrinth type shit, like you have to go through metal doors and shit, and the door to his apartment has five locks and shit. All this shit Arlo has to go through to tell his boss what's up, while Zero is in his bedroom wielding his guitar around in his room. When Arlo finally completes this "what-the-fuckery", he gives Zero a rundown of the case, and from that point on this is where our movie begins to start picking up. Zero goes undercover as an accountant and tracks Stark's every move. Using his logical reasoning, Zero learns more about Stark and his motives. While he's at a health spa, Zero meets potential love interest Gloria Sullivan (played by an androgynous looking Kim Dickens from HBO's Deadwood). Through a simple conversation, Zero figures out that she is a paramedic, which is key to the story. With this conversation, the viewer realizes how socially inept the protagonist really is. (see Sherlock Holmes reference) Lots of plot twists in this with great portrayals from Stiller and Pullman. Sure the movie has its flaws, I mean there is no way this movie needs to have a two hour runtime and the female performances come off a bit weak, but if you're looking to watch an offbeat comedy then this movie is highly recommended.
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