Flash of Genius (Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham, Dermot Mulroney, Alan Alda) – Inspiration comes in many forms. For Professor Robert Kearns, it came when wondering why a windshield wiper can’t work like an eye, blinking at a variable rate. That is the premise behind this mostly true story of an inventor who created the intermittent windshield wiper. In a story told a dozen times or more in film, Greg Kinnear plays the man wrong by “the man,” in this case the Ford Motor Company, who stole his design to invent the wiper in everyone’s car today. In his 15-year journey to get the credit – not to mention the money – he is due, Kearns loses his wife (Graham, who played Steve Carell’s spouse in Evan Almighty), his sanity (at least for awhile), and his passion for teaching as he becomes obsessed with his enemy. Eventually, he gets his day in patent court. Kinnear is that almost superstar actor who has never had to carry a movie alone in his career. This is his chance, and he does well but not good enough. The portrayal is convincing, even if not compelling. I believed him more in Invincible as football coach Dick Vermeil more than here. To me, it was always Kinnear on screen, not the character. But the story helps him because it’s mostly true and the good guy finally gets his chance to win. I couldn’t help thinking that this guy fought for principle – which is noble and admirable – but sacrificed a lot of money and the wife he loved. To me, he was not a totally sympathetic character but that’s how Kinnear played it.
What is odd to me is how the studio promoted and distributed the movie. It looks like it was nationally released yet played in far fewer theaters than most well promoted films. Thus, it looks like an independent film release for a movie that had a lot of trailer hype. As a result, it opened way down in 10th place on its opening weekend, forever left to box office hell despite a pretty good performance and an interesting story. Unlike Kinnear’s turn as a failed motivation speaker in Little Miss Sunshine, he will not garner much critical acclaim. But if you have a chance to see it the movie, it is worth the time and the price of admission.