A would-be Sherlock Holmes for the Nineties: a junk-food junkie (fridge full of pop-top Tab), a substance abuser (Holmes had his occasional cocaine, remember), an untalented songwriter and guitar strummer (in place of a violin), a social recluse who never meets his clients face to face (employing a bemused Watson as a middleman), a master of disguise, of course, relying on, in his own words, "the two obs" -- objectivity and observation -- in order to become, again in his own words, "the greatest private detective in the world." The case in hand, a little matter of blackmail in Portland, recounts the one and only time he allowed his reason to be swayed by a member of the opposite sex. (Same number of times as Holmes, but Daryl Zero is still a youngish man: how can he know for sure?) And indeed the cautious yet confidential manner of the waifish, pixie-haired Kim Dickens is the most appealing of the several odd elements in this frequently faltering spoof. Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller, Ryan O'Neal; written and directed by Jake Kasdan (Lawrence's son). (1998) — Duncan Shepherd
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