BEFORE: Another story about a normal guy trying to get ahead in the business world, and getting the shaft instead. Wrapping up my Labor Day chain with a 3-day look at the auto industry (and teamsters).
THE PLOT: Robert Kearns takes on the Detroit automakers who he claims stole his idea for the intermittent windshield wiper.
AFTER: This is based on a true story, of course we don't know the real Bob Kearns, we see an interpretation of him, played by Greg Kinnear (last seen in "Fast Food Nation"). He's portrayed here as an earnest engineer and inventor, who perhaps places too much trust in the Ford Motor Company. After years of trying to prove that Ford stole his idea - excuse me, infringed his patent - for the intermittent wiper, he has a breakdown, then finally gets his day in court, acting as his own attorney.
Kinnear played a character who was part of the system in "Fast Food Nation", but here he's the little guy that corporate America ripped off and sent packing - why? Because they could... But I've always said that all you need in life is one original idea, one thing that you managed to think of before anyone else did, and for Bob Kearns, that was intermittent wipers. It seems simple enough - wipe, pause, wipe again - so why didn't anyone else think of it in that way?
Kinnear gets a chance to play a character over a large period of time, and through a variety of personal setbacks - which seems like an interesting challenge. We, the audience (and the jury) have to decide if we like a guy who stands up for what he believes is right, even though it costs him nearly everything important in his life to do so. Ah, the stress and paranoia that develop when you go up against the corporate machine...
I've been watching a show on TLC called "Hoarding: Buried Alive" (not "Hoarders" on A&E, different show), partially because I understand a thing or two about obsessive behavior, and because I've gone through cleaning my parents' basement and garage several times, and I understand that process. Many of the people on the show have gone through a traumatic experience in their lives, and they're so fixated on it, that they're unable to move forward emotionally, and are somehow comforted by big piles of useless junk. Something akin to that seems to be at work here in this portrayal of Bob Kearns.
But since I'm anti-spoiler, I won't reveal the results of the court case - though you can probably look it up if you're so inclined. Instead, since my trivia buddies and I have been debating the proper use of the term "ironic", I'll point out that Kearns pursues the case to get money to support his family, but his obsession drives his family away, which is ironic indeed. Also, it seems here that in victory there is still some loss, in struggle there is some futility, and in the fracturing of his family life, there arises a new unity. Zen enough for you?
I could easily transition into legal-themed movies from here - they've been running a lot of Grisham-y movies lately on cable, and I decided to make a week of it - never saw "A Time to Kill", "Absence of Malice", "Presumed Innocent" or "The Chamber", throw in films like "The Juror", "Twelve Angry Men", and even "Jury Duty", and that's a theme week - but no, I'll stick with the plan, because I'm looking forward to Jack.
Also starring Lauren Graham (last seen in "Evan Almighty"), Dermot Mulroney (last seen in "Burn After Reading"), Mitch Pileggi, and character actors Daniel Roebuck (last seen in "U.S. Marshals"), Bill Smitrovitch (last seen in "Crazy People") and Alan Alda.
RATING: 6 out of 10 settlement offers
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