TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Andrew Ray Continuing my look back on three Buried Treasures from the late 1990s, let's review 1998. That was the year of Steven Spielberg's WWII drama, "Saving Private Ryan. Why it lost the Best Picture Oscar to the lightweight British comedy "Shakespeare In Love" remains one of the greatest mysteries in Oscar history. While "Saving Private Ryan" was the motion picture that year, 1998 was also the year of Roberto Benigni's "Life Is Beautiful," John Travolta's star turn (a spot-on Bill Clinton impersonation) in Mike Nichol's "Primary Colors," and director Terrence Malick's triumphant return with "The Thin Blue Line." But there was also a little-seen gem called "Zero Effect." Directed by Jake Kasdan (son of director Lawrence), "Zero Effect" tells the story of Daryl Zero (Bill Pullman), supposedly the world's "most private detective." In fact, Zero is so private he won't even meet with his clients. Instead, he sends his assistant Steve Arlo (Ben Stiller) to meet with them, so that he can, in turn, investigate his clients without their knowing who he is. Seems so logical, I wonder why private eyes don't do this in real life. Zero also has a passion for jumping on his bed playing hard rock air guitar.Now I know what you're thinking. Jumping on bed, assistant played by Ben Stiller, strange method of investigation. This has gotta be an offbeat comedy, right? Well, not really. I found the personality quirks (such as jumping on his bed) to be annoying, Stiller plays his role straight, and the very undercover method of investigation works like a charm (at least on screen, if not in real life). No, "Zero Effect" actually happens to be one of the most interesting mysteries I've ever seen on screen.The plot concerns millionaire businessman Gregory Stark (Ryan O'Neal) who hires Zero to find out who is blackmailing him for his money. The blackmailer turns out to be Gloria Sullivan (Kim Dickens), a young EMT who, logically, should have no personal or social connection to Stark. But Zero refuses to turn her in until he understands why on earth she's blackmailing a local businessman. In the process of the investigation (and remember, nobody knows who Daryl Zero is), he begins to fall for her romantically. As the plot continues to unfold, we learn of a shocking backstory involving the millionaire and the EMT. Meanwhile, the romantic entanglement (secondary though it may be to the story) is genuine and heartfelt. Could Gloria be the one to finally "tame" the great Daryl Zero? Yes, "Zero Effect" is a bit offbeat, but again the screenplay is alluring, the script is tight (like something David Mamet might have written, albeit without his trademark stilted dialogue), and the acting is first rate – particularly Kim Dickens as Gloria, the EMT. This was her first major starring role, and she continues to be the best character actress nobody has ever heard of. Need proof? Watch her as the police detective in last year's "Gone Girl," or as Mrs. Boswell in 2009's "The Blind Side." Dickens continues to fly under the proverbial radar while nailing all her roles, no matter how small.Was "Zero Effect" a masterpiece? No, but it certainly deserved better than it got. While critics generally loved it, "Zero Effect" garnered slim box office. Go back and look for this one. You'll be glad you did. "Zero Effect" is my Buried Treasure for this month.

Prismark10 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.

meshback14 Witty, well written and well done. One of Ben Stiller's best (Mystery Men) performances, and I think Bill Pullman's best to date. Kim Dickens though, she really stole the show as far as I'm concerned. A really moving performance, strong, yet fragile, beguilingly mysterious. The narrative is interesting and amusing, not too studious or too slapstick. Cinematographically nicely done, well shot and apparently accurate geographically, seemed to capture the Northwestern feeling. The elephant in the room, that no one mentions, is that both main characters seem to be suffering from Asberger's Syndrome (or something similar), which can cause savant like abilities to process data, or observations. How else could they deduce what they did. So to me this is an Autistic Love Story.

RKlanke The big budget films that Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller get leave me unimpressed. The films a lark, but who are these guys? Can they act? Given an interesting script and a good director, Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller certainly can act.This is no comedy, although there are moments where you will laugh.This is not a derivative version of a Sherlock Holmes story, although there are interesting comparisons.I had not heard of this movie when I bought a VHS copy in a close-out bin. Since then, I have watched it every few years. It is the best work I have seen them do.