Wednesday 12 September 2012

Father of Invention

What is Kevin Spacey doing? It feels like he’s not making many films, spending all his time at the Old Vic, but actually his work rate is the same as it’s always been (in 1999 he made one film – American Beauty). Perhaps the films he’s making, then, just aren’t as good as his old ones? Or the roles he’s taking in them are minor? In Father of Invention, from 2010, he plays a disgraced inventor, who has spent ten years in a federal prison, trying to restart his life and career. It’s a comedy that’s not really funny. He manages to convince his daughter to let him live with her while he rebuilds his life. Her flatmates, I assume, are supposed to be quirky and funny (they’re not). The film plods along fairly ordinarily, but it is enjoyable enough. Probably the funniest character is the man now sleeping with his wife, played by Craig Robinson, who is secretly his biggest fan. Johnny Knoxville also makes an intriguing distraction, even if not especially funny, as the supermarket manager. The music video at the end is a weird aberration, not really in keeping with the rest of the movie. The world of the film is not as well crafted (people and places come and go randomly) as it could’ve been. You won’t be surprised to learn that Spacey’s character manages to restart his career and rebuild his relationship with his daughter, whilst learning what is truly important in his life, and possibly beginning a romantic affair with one of her flatmates. The context and the characters might be new here, but the premise isn’t, and the writing isn’t good or funny enough to pull it above the rest of the films competing for your attention at the moment.

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