Movie Review: Flash of Genius
Universal/Spyglass Movie Stars Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham
Oct 2, 2008
At first glance, Flash of Genius might be using the A Beautiful Mind/Erin Brokovich method of trolling for Oscar gold. The story of inventor Robert Kearns, who took the Ford Motor Co. to court after they stole his invention for the intermittent wiper system, it tries to turn a messy story of theft and obsession into a classic Hollywood "underdog wins despite the odds"-type film.
Despite the basic problem at the core of the movie, Flash of Genius is a lot less annoying and manipulative than it could've been. But it's not a great film, either.
Flash of Genius Tries to Turn Messy Reality Into Standard Hollywood Feel-Good Movie
The problem with Flash of Genius is that the basic plot isn't conducive to your classic Hollywood "David vs. Goliath" story. Robert Kearns was adamant that he could build his invention on his own - with his children's help - and supply the Big Three automakers with intermittent wipers from his own factory. It was his stubborn refusal to accept anything less that cost him his marriage, 5 law firms, his job and his health.
Greg Kinnear does a great job of portraying the awkward, obsessive, occasionally deranged, inventor, making him a sympathetic character even as his long-suffering wife Phyllis (Lauren Graham, in an excellent supporting role) announces she's had enough and divorces him.
Again, the dissolution of their marriage is modified to fit the Hollywood standard (the Washington Post's obituary mentions that Kearns was sentenced to 120 days in jail for nonpayment of alimony and refusing to move out of their Gaithersberg home).
While this flick probably won't earn Kinnear the Oscar this role seems tailor-made for, it's another indication that he's is one of the better leading men/character actors in Hollywood today. He might end up on the podium one day, but probably not for this flick.
The rest of the cast - with guys like Alan Alda, Dermot Mulroney and Mitch Pileggi doing uniformly sterling work - does their job, but Philip Railsback's script (from the article by John Seabrook) attempts to turn this complicated, less-than-completely sympathetic character into your typical Hollywood victim who fights back. It's a tough sell: maybe if Universal and Spyglass had been willing to show more of Kearns' warts, it might have worked, but the struggle to make this character heroic is obvious.
The Final Analysis
This movie isn't the treacly, pound-its-message-into-your-skull-with-a-10-pound-sledgehammer Oscar bait flick that it could've been. Unfortunately, it tries a little too hard to turn a messy realistic story into your classic Hollywood "David vs. Goliath" tale. The result is a movie that isn't as heart-burningly sappy as it could've been, but not as powerful as it could've been either.
For that reason, Flash of Genius gets a 5/10.
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