A Look Back: Zero Effect
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the little seen Bill Pullman/Ben Stiller “comedy thriller” Zero Effect. Chances are that you’ve never heard of the movie, and that would put you in the majority of movie goers, as the film screened in only 129 theaters and its total box office run netted a paltry $2 million [in 1998 dollars, per Box Office Mojo]. Even the movie’s Wikipedia page is bare, more evidence of its small pop culture impact.
Nevertheless, the movie should not be dismissed simply because of its lackluster box office performance. Directed and written by Jake Kasdan – who would go on to direct several episodes of Judd Apatow’s universally acclaimed “Freaks and Geeks”, the pilot episode of “Undeclared”, the Colin Hanks vehicle Orange County, and the recently released Walk Hard: The Dewex Cox Story – Zero Effect has great charm and imagination, an intriguingly off-kilter tone, and above all a fully realized comic performance by Bill Pullman.
The movie centers on Pullman’s character, Darryl Zero – the self-proclaimed world’s greatest private investigator, who is hired by a client (played by Ryan O’Neal) to find out who has been blackmailing him. In the course of his investigation, Zero falls for the main suspect – Gloria (played by Kim Dickens), an adventure-loving paramedic with the wits to match that of Zero’s. The movie makes a turn at this point, as it transforms from “comedy thriller” to “romantic comedy/thriller”.
The highlight of the movie is Pullman’s performance as the neurotic Zero – a pretzel hoarding, power ballad writing recluse who can solve mysteries of global import with a single phone call. The role of Zero maybe the high-point of Pullman’s career, where we usually see him suffering in second-banana roles or cheesy clichéd movies [like the president in Independence Day]. I had my doubts about the movie when I saw that Pullman was the lead, but he pulls off the role brilliantly. Equally good is Ben Stiller’s performance as Steve Arlo, Zero’s utterly flummoxed assistant. I think Kasdan, who also wrote the movie, did the audience a disservice by not involving Stiller’s character more into the plot. Instead, Arlo is relegated to comedic relief – if that’s possible in a comedy.
Overall, Zero Effect is a solid movie with a strong cast, strong performances, and a quirky, fun plot. Despite some lackluster reviews, it is engaging and a disarmingly fresh first effort from Kasdan.
It should be noted that in 2002, Kasdan attempted to resurrect the character Daryl Zero for television, with Alan Cummings in the lead role. However, NBC did not pick up the pilot, which is interesting as that was the same year USA Network debuted its breakout hit “Monk”, which features a brilliant, yet neurotic private eye. [USA Network was purchased by NBC when NBC acquired Vivendi Universal's North American-based entertainment asset in 2003].
This post is part of Chronological Snobbery’s coverage of Zero Effect’s tenth anniversary.
