Undeterred, even to the point of his own insanity, Robert invests all of his energy into the endeavor, losing his job and eventually his family in the process. And while it’s certainly a noble pursuit to see someone rally for what’s right rather than conceding in favor of the almighty dollar, Kearns is placed on such a glorious pedestal by the filmmakers that the important sacrifices he makes (like blatantly neglecting his family) are neatly swept under the rug. The audience never sees the gritty realities of such a decision—the moments where Robert probably wanted to give up—because the screenwriter never bothered to give Robert any other emotion but unbridled, stubborn determination. And sadly, we don’t even see a twinge of regret when the wife he clearly loves so much in the beginning of the film leaves. Instead, he naively assumes she’ll come back as soon as it’s all over, even if it’s years and years down the road.

The affair then grows increasingly more hokey in the poorly executed courtroom scenes later on. Lacking the legal complexity of even your basic John Grisham novel, the arguments made by both sides are so simplistic and cheesy that it’s almost insulting to the viewer. Right is clearly so right and wrong is clearly so wrong that you’d think the filmmakers forgot about the power of nuance. And that feeling of being force-fed the moral ultimately disappoints in what’s supposed to be the climatic moment.

Not only is David’s defeat of Goliath not nearly as fulfilling, but it makes Flash of Genius an appropriate title, albeit unintentionally. Sure, the idea for the intermittent wiper may have been genius, but the accompanying movie doesn’t quite live up to all the hype.

CAUTIONS:

• Drugs/Alcohol:  Social drinking and cigarette smoking depicted.
• Language/Profanity:  One use of the “f” word plus a few scattered profanities (some uttered by teenage and younger children) and instances where the Lord’s name is taken in vain.
• Sex/Nudity:  None aside from a couple of skimpy, cleavage-baring tops worn by the Ford models. 
• Violence:  None.
• Religion:  The Kearns’ are a church-going family that prays before eating together. In one scene, they pray that God will bring rain so the intermittent windshield wipers could be tested. In several scenes, Robert talks about God having a specific, meaningful purpose for his life.

 

Christa Banister is a full-time freelancer writer, specializing in music, movies and books-related reviews and interviews and is the author of two novels, Around the World in 80 Dates and Blessed Are the Meddlers. Based in St. Paul, Minn., she also weighs in on various aspects of pop culture on her personal blog. 

For more information, including her upcoming book signings and sample chapters of her novels, check out her Website.