Amateurish Silliness

Rating: 3/10 (18 June 2004)

This film is so sophomoric, it's hard not to laugh through most of it. Vague, silly associations are made, conspiracies are hinted at, boredom ensues. Everything from computers to stocks and the Kabbalah are cartoonified.
There's actually a lot of opportunity for funny, deconstructive unintended readings. For instance, the protagonist being pursued by the attractive woman who just wants to manipulate his genius is simultaneously played straight as pity for the brilliant man and offers an hilarious alternate reading as pure wish fulfillment. But ultimately, the fact that nothing happens there is the most thorough indictment of this film: there is literally nothing human in it at all. Though one of the worst possible offenses is to weave silly personal interest nonsense into interesting material, uninteresting material without a spec of personal interest is actually even worse.
The protagonist musters less interest than Dennis peaking through Mr. Wilson's hedge. The ending is so stupid it evokes a groan: the tortured genius must mutilate himself. Zzzzz zzzzz zzzzz.....