Zero Effect

1998 feature film starring Bill Pulman as Defective Detective Daryl Zero and Ben Stiller as The Watson Steve Arlo.

Daryl Zero, a brilliant but reclusive private eye, traditionally works from afar with assistant Steve Arlo as his representative in the field. Socially awkward and inept but extraordinarily confident in his deductive abilities, Zero keeps himself locked in his apartment where he composes awful songs on his guitar and subsists on a diet of tuna, Tab, pretzels, Campbell's soup, and amphetamines. Zero and Arlo are retained by Corrupt Corporate Executive Gregory Stark to investigate who is blackmailing him and stole his keys. Immediately, Zero is thrown into a quirky world of seduction, intrigue, comedy and double-crosses.

Pretty obviously based on the Sherlock Holmes story A Scandal In Bohemia, down to specific traits that Zero and Holmes share and the eventual resolution of the plot - almost everything in the film has a direct Holmes parallel - although where it doesn't swipe from Holmes, it's doing a Raymond Chandler riff. Better Than It Sounds, it's arguably one of the best Holmes adaptations out there, even if Pullman's a bit bland for the role. A hidden gem Cult Classic, and highly recommended for lovers of the mystery genre.

The character of Daryl Zero was brought back for a One-Episode Wonder television adaptation in 2002, though it was not picked up by the network.


 * Asshole Victim: Stark.
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Defective Detective
 * Good Is Not Nice
 * GPS Evidence
 * Hacker Cave - the final scene
 * Hyper Awareness
 * Love Makes You Dumb: Zero's feelings for Gloria make him unable to deduce things about her.
 * My Hero Zero
 * Noodle Incident: The references to Zero's previous cases.
 * Sherlock Scan
 * They Have the Scent
 * The Watson