Friday, October 3, 2008

The true story of inventor Robert Kearns's years-long struggle to force the Detroit auto industry to admit it stole his 1963 design for the intermittent windshield wiper will appeal less to courtroom-drama fans than to stick-it-to-the-Man fans in "Flash of Genius."

For one thing, the courtroom drama -- a climactic lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. in which Kearns (Greg Kinnear) acts as his own attorney -- doesn't kick in until almost 90 minutes, and much human drama, have elapsed. By then, there has been another whole movie, in which Kearns loses his job, his wife (Lauren Graham), his lawyer (Alan Alda), the affection of his kids and, nearly, his sanity.

That movie is not half bad, either. The trial, by comparison, will feel familiar to anyone who has ever watched any David take on any corporate Goliath before a court of law ("Erin Brockovich," "A Civil Action," etc., etc.).

What's more, it's not as if the outcome of the lawsuit will have too many on the edge of their seats. The movie, directed by Marc Abraham, is based on a 1993 New Yorker magazine story. Kearns was even profiled in a long article in this newspaper. Oh, and guess what? They don't make a whole lot of movies about the triumph of soulless corporations over plucky whistleblowers.

Not that I wouldn't go to see one if they did.

Kinnear, who burns through a number of different hairpieces as his character ages, will have you rooting for the chipper if dweeby engineering professor. The genial actor does a yeoman's job of charting Kearns's self-destructive obsession.

Still, we'd relate to him even if he didn't. This is the story of Everyman vs. the System, and we've all heard it before. It's Kearns who had his work cut out for him. Kinnear's job is a relative cakewalk.

-- Michael O'Sullivan

Flash of Genius PG-13, 116 minutes Contains crude language. Area theaters.