Review: Lightbulb (2009)

[Steve Rhodes]

LIGHTBULB
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2009 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****):  ** 1/2

In Jeff Balsmeyer's LIGHTBULB, Dallas Roberts (3:10 TO YUMA) and Jeremy 
Renner (28 WEEKS LATER) play Matt and Sam, a couple of lovable losers. 
Compulsive gamblers who jointly run a novelties company, they live for a 
breakthrough product that will give them the riches they think they deserve. 
Until their lucky break comes along, they bet whatever money comes their way 
at the track and at the card tables, telling themselves that they are doing 
this to make more money to add to their company's coffers.

The owners of International Gifts, a company that sounds important but isn't, 
Matt and Sam have some great ideas currently rolling out.  The "best" of 
their recent inventions are various novelty watches.  And the most promising 
of the recent lot of their kitschy gadgets is the "Dreaming Dog Watch." 
With this watch, the dog's owner can see what the dog is dreaming of, shown 
in chintzy animation on the watch.  Another big idea is the "Lucky Lottery 
Watch," which can generate random digits that the wearer can use to play the 
lottery.

Of course, these watches, designed in International Gift's dilapidated 
headquarters, look cheap and ridiculous, but, as the guys say, they don't 
sell watches.  They sell dreams.

About to go bankrupt, the men are trying hard to think of some product that 
will finally sell in enough quantity to pay for their miniscule overhead. 
They dream really big, but, when they do succeed, it is usually very small.

Although the guys' failures are funny, including a u-shaped two-layer 
toothbrush for speed brushing and a dangerous head-mounted video viewer for 
joggers, the movie is never quite as funny as the gags might suggest.

Eventually, Matt and Sam do come up with a product that might actually sell 
enough copies to make their company modestly successful.  Of course, their 
journey from idea to realization will prove to be filled with pot holes, 
even when they think their road to success is finally going to be smooth.

I found the director's previous film, DANNY DECKCHAIR from 2003, to be much 
more consistently successful.  While I liked LIGHTBULB just enough to be 
able to recommend it, its jokes aren't cute enough to be particularly 
memorable.  Once the plot is set up, most of the jokes and the conclusion 
are fairly predictable.  The only part that is a surprise is the exact gizmo 
that Matt and Sam design that may finally provide them a modicum of success.

A two-word review of the film might be: Cute enough.

LIGHTBULB runs 1:30.

The film is being shown as part of San Jose's Cinequest Film Festival 
(www.Cinequest.org), which runs February 25 - March 8, 2009.

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