Zero Effect |  | Director: Jake Kasdan
Actors: Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller, Ryan O'Neal, Kim Dickens, Angela Featherstone
Studio: Turner Home Ent
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy Used: $3.99
as of 3/18/2010 09:35 EDT details
You Save: $15.99 (80%)
New (12) Used (14) from $3.99
Seller: goHastings
Rating:  69 reviews
Sales Rank: 29690
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
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 116 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.6
MPN: WARDC2534D
ISBN: 0780623223
UPC: 053939253429
EAN: 9780780623224
ASIN: 0780623223
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
HE'S A GENIUS ON THE JOB AND A BASKET CASE IN LIFE. WITH SHARPINSIGHT, DETECTIVE DARYL ZERO AND HIS SIDEKICK ZERO IN ON CRIME.BUT WHEN LOVE ZEROES IN ON ZERO, THE WORLDS GREATEST SLEUTH SUDDENLY DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE.
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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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
 So So Knock Off December 23, 2009
R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a well made and well acted effort to update the classic Sherlock Holmes mystery. Despite its positive features, it fails in the end because it doesn't bring anything novel and interesting to the genre. The characters are a virtually a transposition from Conan Doyle and the basic plot idea is lifted from A Scandal in Bohemia.
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)
3 out of 3 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!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 69
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