Tuesday, October 7, 2008

FLASH OF GENIUS




Drama
Based on a true story

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Greg Kinnear: college professor and part-time inventor Dr. Robert Kearns
Lauren Graham: his wife Phyllis
Dermot Mulroney: Gil Privick, Kearns' best friend and business associate
Mitch Pileggi: an executive with the Ford Motor Company
Alan Alda: Gregory Lawson, Kearns' lawyer

REVIEW
The producers have wisely chosen to keep it real. As a consequence there is none of the emoting so prevalent in movies about one individual struggling against a large corporation. Even the courtroom proceedings are devoid of the usual bombastic screaming seen so often. How refreshing.

The acting by Kinnear demands of him to play a wide range of emotions and this he does well. Although Alan Alda’s screen time is rather limited he pulls it off beautifully. He’s come a long way from “Mash” and has matured as an actor.

The pacing is fine but things drag on a bit with the result it is almost 2 hours long. Cut out half an hour and they get one more star.

CLASSIFICATION
for brief strong language. They got to be kidding: the only thing I remember hearing that was even remotely “strong language” was when one of the kids says to his sister “you’re a dips _ _ t” and when questioned by his mother if he had said a dirty word the kid lies and says “no…I called her a dipstick”. For that they give it a PG-13?

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
 As a gesture of reverence Catholics genuflect when passing in front of the tabernacle. They don’t make a sign of the cross as Bob does. This is done only at the start of saying a prayer.
 Bob drives up the company driveway and stops the car quite some distance from the Ford engineers, I’d say 30 or 40 feet, then walks up to them. When he is asked to turn on the engine seen from the overhead shot the car has conveniently moved closer and now he only has to walk a short distance, about 10 feet.
 While Bob is brushing his teeth Phyllis comes up and stands behind him leaning on the left hand side of the door frame. Bob turns around and goes to her. The point of view changes so we see them from behind but they have magically switched over to the other side of the doorway.

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