Video Americain

Review

First-time director Kasdan (son of director Lawrence Kasdan) makes an impressive debut with this often exhilarating private eye comedy. The basic premise could launch a dozen paperbacks: Brilliant gumshoe has his greatest weakness (namely an inability to interact with people) tested in the toughest case of his career. While the story of a timber tycoon being blackmailed is solid but stale, the details make this film special. The environments we take for granted, such as a white-collar gym or a diner, are given such attention and character that they cease to be "locations." Even Stiller's sidekick has an important story of his own to tell, and it never seems like a subplot. As Daryl Zero, Pullman anchors the movie with his sociological nightmare of a P.I., always identifiable under his many smooth disguises (unlike the recent Saint and Jackal debacles).

 -- David Gorgos