This starts off pretty good, gets a little better and then fades in the second half and keeps fading.
The twists and revelations in the final minute come too late to save the film. Once the suspense the romance ends, it just doesn't work the rest of the way.
All of the characters, except by the one played by Ben Stiller, are either crooked or have no life or no conscience so it was tough for me to like a film that has so many unappealing leads.
Bill Pullman's narration was pretty good but there was little else for me to recommend this film.
Zero Effect
1998
Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama / Mystery / Romance / Thriller
Plot summary
Daryl Zero is a private investigator. Along with his assistant, Steve Arlo he solves impossible crimes and puzzles. Though a master investigator, when he is not working, Zero doesn't know what to do with himself. He has no social skills, writes bad music, and drives Arlo crazy. In his latest case, Zero must find out who is blackmailing a rich executive, and when his client won't tell him, why. The only problem with this case is Zero has done something he's never done before: got emotionally involved.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Ben Stiller as Steve Arlo
Bill Pullman as Daryl Zero
Kim Dickens as Gloria Sullivan
Ryan O'Neal as Gregory Stark
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 1.04 GB
1280*714
English 2.0
R
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
Too Little, Too Late
Reviewed by
The world's most private detective
This is a rather obscure and cultish film from Jake Kasdan (son of Lawrence Kasdan). Bill Pullman is 'the world's greatest detective' Daryl Zero. The plot is loosely based on the Sherlock Holmes story 'A Scandal in Bohemia.'
Zero besides being a great detective is quirky and a misanthrope. He never meets or has direct contact with his clients. Instead he leaves it to his put upon assistant, Steve Arlo (Ben Stiller).
Zero and Arlo are hired by a millionaire Gregory Stark (Ryan O'Neal) who has lost the key to a safe deposit box and is being blackmailed by an unknown person who forces him to follow elaborate instructions to deliver the cash payments.
From early on in the film you see Zero is very much a combination of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes as well as Nero Wolfe. Pullman delivers an intense and yet distant performance very much in keeping with his character. Ben Stiller in an early role plays the everyman role, dedicated to and yet also frustrated by Zero.
The film is small scale and enjoyable which depends on its actors to deliver the goods. Jake Kasdan never gets the pacing entirely right and its debt to Conan Doyle is rather obvious.
Reviewed by
I met Bill Pullman while he was filming this
Filmed in Portland, Jake Kasdan's "Zero Effect" casts Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller as detectives investigating who is blackmailing Ryan O'Neal's character...but things aren't quite what they seem. It's a quirky movie, with some really interesting scenes of taking the bus back and forth. Not a great movie, but I liked it. I actually got Pullman's autograph during the filming. One of the sets was located not far from my school, so some of the other students and I got Pullman's autograph. He was a really nice guy.
Like I said, it's not a masterpiece or anything, but I thought that it's worth seeing.