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Zero Effect (1998) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2026-01-19 21:30:02
Edited:
2026-01-21 18:49:56
Imported:
2026-08
Tags:

Content

Okay y'all, I have a bit of a switcheroo this week. I originally said Inherent Vice was coming. That will come a bit later this year. So instead, we have Zero Effect! This is also a viewer's choice and a Reactr request from Tyler Foster - thank you!

This movie seems to be a hidden gem, as I checked YouTube after recording to see if there were any reactions to it and there are none! This will be a Patreon Exclusive for now, but maybe I'll get it edited in the future.

Enjoy the reaction! Thanks so much for watching with me and I'm looking forward to your comments. 😊

✦ KL

Direct Link Here

Files

Zero Effect (1998) ✦ Full-Length Watchalong Reaction

Comments

Tyler Foster

Yeah, like I said, the fact that this is a riff on Sherlock Holmes is just fun to know. Admittedly, I have not read "A Scandal in Bohemia," so maybe there are some subtle references I'm not noticing, but it's mostly the broad strokes, with Daryl as the detective who is incredible at observation and bad at social graces (and yes, who is addicted to drugs, which is only fleetingly referenced in the film), and then Steve Arlo as his frustrated right-hand man who deals with his whims and spends much of his time making excuses for him. I also know through what limited experience I have with "Elementary" and the first Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes movie that Sherlock has his own "only woman," Irene Adler. Given Batman (also nicknamed "The World's Greatest Detective") is modeled on Holmes as well, Irene Adler is something like Sherlock's Catwoman within the lore, and you can see how that might fit with the way Gloria is used here. Daryl's observation about Stark not remembering his name is not a general observation about paranoia, but specific to Stark. Stark is being blackmailed and he meets a stranger who makes a point of introducing himself, but Stark forgets his name, which tells Daryl that he doesn't suspect him of being the blackmailer or connected to it. Stressed, but not suspicious of every person he meets. Steve's flights would still be annoying because they are often unnecessary and keep him from his girlfriend, but they are short flights, not across the country. Daryl and Steve live in Los Angeles, and Stark is in Portland, Oregon. Google tells me this is a 2h30m flight. Kim Dickens, who plays Gloria, is great on the other side of the law in David Fincher's Gone Girl, where she plays Detective Rhonda Boney. (If it weren't on your Letterboxd, that could've been a possibility for a pick from me.) My guess as to Gloria's intuitive arc is that she has her guard up from the beginning. She tests him on the obscure tax law but accepts the answer. That evening, she catches him being good with the gun after pretending to be bad, but doesn't seem to think much of it. Then, as you say, the desk girl mentions the confusion. She also sees Stark in the parking lot of Daryl's hotel with Steve, but doesn't see Daryl, so whether or not she makes anything of that, who knows -- in 1998, there's no way to just look someone up based on a description. For me, the key scene is the diner. Daryl asks about skydiving, but of course, he's also asking about risk, and Gloria's answer tells him that she enjoys the thrill but isn't just a reckless risk-taker, which shines a light how she approaches the blackmail. More importantly, once he realizes her identity, he understands why *she* would want to know about a troubled family history, having her own (and of course, now understanding why she's blackmailing Stark, that there is no chance she would be working with him). As for Daryl's fame, my read of this is that he is probably not known to the general public, but *if* one were to be looking up private investigators, his reputation would be incredible. Since he only leaves his house in order to go on cases, I imagine there are no photos of him either. One other thing you seemed to like but didn't mention in the outro was the music. Instead of a composer, it was by a band called The Greyboy Allstars. I don't know anything about them other than the score for this movie, but I love it. Finally, re: wishing for more Zero Effect -- unfortunately, there *is* actually a tiny bit more Zero Effect, but not the "more" I wanted. Kasdan returned in 2002 to help adapt the movie into a television show, which makes sense because then they could solve a mystery every episode. However, the roles were naturally recast. The guy they got to play Stiller's role is pretty decent, pretty much what you'd want if you bought Stiller off of Wish. However, they cast Alan Cumming as Daryl Zero. I love Alan Cumming, but he is *terrible* in the pilot, which can be seen on YouTube. I can't recommend watching the whole thing, but in case you're interested to catch a glimpse of it for curiosity's sake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUH3iqja0H4

Death Lego

I'd never seen or heard of this before. I suspected less than 5 minutes in that it was a Sherlock Holmes interpretation. It hits very squarely on the head a number of the key aspects. You should maybe check out at least another depiction of this iconic character model. There have been so many, direct and indirect inspirations brought to the big and small screen over the past 100+ years. Jeremy Brent's is perhaps considered to be the most faithful portrayal, from UK television in the 1980's. There are quite a number that both predate and post-date this of course. (Please let it not be Robert Downey Jr in the Guy Ritchie films. Too much of a stylised departure to truly get a close enough idea of the character, I think.) Even Hugh Laurie as Gregory House, in House MD is a riff on the character in a number of very obvious ways. Perhaps a modern popular one, would be Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock. Written by Steven Moffat. Who's writing you'll know.

Tyler Foster

I hope you enjoyed it. As I said in my note that she read, I feel this is a very underrated movie, but I think it's perfect at what it's trying to do. However, you may feel differently if you're already a Sherlock Holmes aficionado.

nouvelle_vague

I was really looking forward to Inherent Vice, but this is a special treat. I never expected a reaction to Zero Effect. This was the first movie I ever saw where I was the only person in the theatre. I saw a lot of movies in the theatre in that era and there were plenty that felt like great movies that didn’t seem to find an audience upon release but became beloved (Shawshank and Big Lebowski jump to mind) eventually. For whatever reason, Zero Effect never found that audience and seems largely forgotten. Which is a shame, I think it’s a fun and engaging plot with some great performances. It felt fresh in 1998 and maybe feels less so now that there have been a lot more modern riffs on the Holmes-Watson dynamic since, but I loved the writing and the characters and I still think it’s a clever film. Bill Pullman is great in this and I love that he did Independence Day and then did David Lynch’s Lost Highway and this right after. But I think Kim Dickens doesn’t get enough love for this (or in general). She’s so good here: cunning, perceptive, vulnerable. Any time she pops up in something I get a little excited to see her again. I’m glad Tyler mentioned Jake Kasdan’s, ummm, puzzling, career arc. Such a strong and assured debut and then he directed a bunch of the season of Freaks and Geeks (including the first two episodes) and then it’s been a steady decline ever since. But more people probably saw Red One on its first day than saw Zero Effect in the past 28 years, so who am I to judge? Thanks for the reaction KL and the request Tyler. And thanks for giving me an excuse to fire up my VCR to watch my copy of this one for the first time in years.

Movies with KL

A VCR watch! Love it. 😊 And yeah, Inherent Vice will be coming later, sorry about that!

nouvelle_vague

I'll tell myself it's a good thing I haven't tossed my VHS tapes (not that there are that many) to justify my bad habits. No need to apologize about Inherent Vice. Gives me something to look forward to in the future and this was such a treat and surprise in its place.