There is an inherent problem with this movie: it is about windshield wipers. There is no getting around that it presents a lack of interest from the get go. No matter what you do with the script or acting, it remains a movie whose focus is on the windshield wiper. It hardly seems like the kind of story worthy for the big screen. I mean we all use our windshield wipers, but we don't, as a collective, spend too much time pondering the windshield wiper and why should we? The wipers are like sporting referees, if they are doing their job we never notice them. However, here we are presented with a movie that takes the concept of the windshield wiper very seriously. So with that bias going in, how can a movie like this succeed?
On his way home from church on a rainy day, inventor/college professor Bob Kearns(Greg Kinnear) wonders out loud to his wife and 6 kids why there can't be speed changes on a windshield wiper. He thinks that wipers should work like eye lids, blink faster if needed and not much if not needed. Then a few minutes later in movie time, he has created a way for a windshield wiper to pause between wipes and even speed up. He puts together a business proposal and soon is taking the product to Ford to show them he did it. He wants to manufacture the product himself and sell it to Ford for them to put on cars, but after waiting a while Ford rejects the proposal and that was that. Well, until Kearns sees Ford cars using his technology. He needs to sue them. He needs validation for all of the (off screen) work he did on it. In doing so, he pushes his business partner/friend away. He ostracizes himself from his wife and his eldest child resents him. He spends time in a mental facility and reverts to stealing off of cars to try and prove his point. But, he does get his day in court.
So, can a movie about the windshield wiper be interesting, not really. The team of writers, directors and actors do their damnedest and should be applauded for their efforts, really, but in the end, there is something missing that is key to movies- the big event. I guess you could classify this as a character study, but whose character is being studied? The Kearns character? I guess, but there isn't a real character change there, except for aging, which deserves recognition- the make up and adding of pounds was quite exceptional. Kinnear gives a very winning performance, but the characters of Kearns character lacks a zany or wacky or fun personality. He feels like your uncle, your average every day uncle. As the wife, Lauren Graham, the picture of modern and classic beauty, does what she can, but it is a pretty typical character to be playing. I spent the entire movie waiting for something major to happen- something tragic, or interesting, or happy- but it never came. Every so often the movie would jump ahead a few years in time, but essentially the same stuff would continue to happen.
When Kearns finally gets his day in court, I will admit the movie perks up a little bit, but only because Kearns is representing himself because no lawyer will take on Ford. The awkward comedy that comes from a non-lawyer trying to be a lawyer works but the best scene is when Kearns has to call himself as a witness. I am not sure if he did it in real life, but on film it is funny to hear him ask and answer his own questions. The movie is trying to make a point about standing up for the voiceless or the little man against big companies and there is some passing mention to other inventors who were robbed of their inventions, and I believe it to be a worthy cause but it is only touched on without going into much detail about the whole thing.
I am glad I watched the movie because Kinnear is quite good with what he has, but ultimately this is a movie that did not need to be made. Yes, the verdict and everything else is a nice story, but it isn't really worthy of the big screen when it is all said and done. I doubt anyone will remember this story a few days after watching the movie. Maybe that is sad for us as we take these little inventions for granted, but it is the world in which we live.
Final Grade: C
No comments:
Post a Comment