Father Of Invention: Movie Review

Many of you will read the title of this movie and think to yourself that you never heard of it. Well, your not alone. I caught this February 2010 release a couple of weeks ago. The movie was produced and starred Kevin Spacey with Anchor Bay Films. It was not marketed or distributed well which resulted in poor box office results and was quickly sent to DVD three short months later. I found this to be a very well written and comedic movie.

The movie is about the life of Robert Axle who plays a “Billy Mays” style character who pushes his inventions and products onto people. Axle finds himself on top of the industry and very successful until one of his fabrications leads to people breaking their fingers. After serving ten years in prison, a disgraced Axle is released, and ready to redeem his name and rebuild his empire with a new innovation. However, Axle’s ex-wife (Virginia Madsen) has spent all of his money and moved into his house with her new husband (Craig Robinson). Out of desperation, he finds a part-time job as a janitor and his boss is played by Johnny Knoxville, who later becomes his new business partner. He is forced to move in with his estranged daughter (Camilla Belle) and her over-protective roommates(Heather Graham). He is determined to invent his newest gadget and rebuild his fabrication empire. But the world has changed in the last decade, and Axle finds himself out of step with current technology, his daughter, and the self-confidence that made him king of the infomercials in the past. In the end, Axle soon realizes before he can be successful with his new creation, first he must reinvent himself.