"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.
