MOVIES
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham, Dermot Mulroney
Grade: B-
Rated PG-13: For brief strong language There's nothing flashy about "Flash of Genius." Then again, it's about the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper, so what can you expect?
Still, it would have been nice to see a bit more sizzle in this well-made film based on a true story. First-time director Marc Abraham -- who has produced a wide variety of films, from "Air Force One" to "Dawn of the Dead" -- has an interesting story, a clear script and a solid lead actor. If only he could have found a bit more heat.
Greg Kinnear stars as Bob Kearns, a college professor in 1960s Detroit who also dabbles as an inventor. Driving his wife (Lauren Graham) and their big brood through a rainstorm one day, he realizes it would be convenient if he could control the speed of his windshield wipers.
So Bob comes up with a way to do just that. And when he and his lawyers approach Ford Motor Co. with it, it turns out the car company has been trying to turn the same trick for some time. But they haven't figured out how to do it. Bob has.
Ford agrees to let Bob build the gizmo for them. And then promptly steals his ideas, going ahead and making it on their own and freezing him out.
This sets up the film's basic David and Goliath story, but to Abraham and screenwriter Philip Railsback's credit, they don't play it out like some football story with a game-winning touchdown.
Kearns is essentially driven crazy by the injustice, and he ends up first in a mental hospital and then alienating his wife and kids. Obsessed with getting credit for the device, he turns down generous settlement offers; he doesn't just want money, he wants an apology.
Kinnear steers Kearns along a path of moderate likability rather than playing him like some A-OK swell guy. He's abrupt, a bit paranoid and too preoccupied to let even his own family in.
The film stumbles at times -- Kearns' initial breakdown happens too quickly, his courtroom finale is one place where a bit more spin might have been nice -- but it's essentially solid storytelling.
And Main Street folks may find themselves cheering for any little guy taking on a corporate behemoth these days.
Indeed, "Flash of Genius" may not be flashy, but it sure is timely. It's a hard-working tale about a hard-working man driven to desperation by corporate malfeasance. Can anybody out there relate?
© Copyright 2012, New York Times Syndicate
