Oct 2, 2008 12:36 pm US/Eastern
'Flash of Genius'
NEW YORK (AP) ―
It's the first day of school and Greg Kinnear, as a college engineering professor, writes the word "ethics" on the blackboard for his students to ponder.
Obviously, this will be important to this character and to his story. It's also just one of many examples of director Marc Abraham spelling out for the audience exactly where he's going with this David-and-Goliath tale of corporate greed that's based on true events.
Kinnear stars as Dr. Robert Kearns, married father of six and inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper in 1960s Detroit. Someone had to figure it out -- the guys at Ford had been tinkering with little success -- but then when Kearns came along, the company liked his makeshift contraption so much, it stole the thing away from him without giving him credit (or a cent).
"Flash of Genius" is the long, arduous story of the legal battles and family sacrifices Kearns made in the name of truth, justice, and all that is right in this world. There's something quaint about how old-fashioned this little guy's fight is -- and Kinnear is often so aw-shucks in his Midwesternness, it sounds like he's doing a Jimmy Stewart impression.
But we know that he fought and won, and Abraham, a longtime producer directing for the first time from a script by Philip Railsback, does little to boost suspense.
Lauren Graham is likable as always but seems miscast as Kearns' dutiful wife, Phyllis, who finds she can only tolerate his obsession for so long, and Alan Alda has a couple of standout scenes as his no-nonsense lawyer.
PG-13 for brief strong language. 118 min. Two stars out of four.
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