Father of Invention (2010)

Genre


Director


Country


Cast

Kevin Spacey, Camilla Belle, Heather Graham, Johnny Knoxville, Anna Anissimova, Virginia Madsen, Craig Robinson, John Stamos, Michael Rosenbaum, Rhoda Griffis, Jack McGee, Danny Comden, Marc Macaulay, Audra Marie, Mary Elizabeth Cobb

Storyline

Eccentric inventor Robert Axle (Kevin Spacey) loses it all when one of his inventions maims thousands of customers. After 8 years in maximum security prison, he is ready to redeem his name and rebuild his billion dollar empire.

Opinion

As the huge fan of Kevin Spacey I am, I couldn't help but keep on asking myself most of the time, "Oh Kevin, why?".

Father of Invention is a "dramedy" about a father that doesn't work neither as a comedy nor as a drama, considering the lack both of laughs and emotions, and seems like it doesn't even know what kind of film it wants to be.

The direction is basically non existent, the camera is way too close, and the writing by Jonathan D. Krane and Trent Cooper is not poor, worse: there is no story, the screenplay is an absolute mess, the dialogue is awful, and the supporting characters are even worse - some characters are as flat as a surf table. Also, what's going on with the lesbian? I am a supporter of the LGBT community, but, seriously, randomly putting a gay character into a film isn't cool, most of all if the clichéd pissed-with-the-entire-world feminist lesbian, or the feminine gay.

Kevin Spacey delivers a soulful performance as usual, and does a wonderful job considering the awful material he was given, but unfortunately doesn't help the film much. Camilla Belle, who plays Spacey's daughter, gives a wooden performance, barely moving her body or her face. Heather Graham was okay, but her character, the lesbian, is not engaging at all. Johnny Knoxville is fine as the store manager. Virginia Madsen is annoying as Spacey's ex-wife. And there should have been more John Stamos - his part was too small - and Michael Rosenbaum - his character could have snatched a few laughs.

If you are a die-hard Spacey fan you must watch it, because it's nice seeing him playing something lighter, and different than usual. If you are not, I highly recommend not to watch it.


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