Highly Overrated But Still Good

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

I actually liked this film. It's a light-hearted look at people suffering from reduced mental capacity (memory loss, lapses in judgement) due to aging (portrayed by Alan Alda), or from post-concussion syndrome (portrayed by Matthew Broderick).The main characters played their characters very well. Alan Alda especially did a remarkable acting job. Bravo Alan! I'm going to have to dig through the archives and see your earlier works as well. Very convincing as the elderly gentleman who's slowly losing his marbles while retaining a very charming outlook on life.The storyline is quite simple. You're not watching this movie for a complex or compelling story but rather to watch the characters and how their relationships evolve with each other. Of course there has to be a romantic interest thrown in and although that was maybe one of the lesser parts of this movie, Virginia Madsen plays her part well and looks very fetching as a 40-something single mother.7/10

Cooper, a newspaper political writer, suffered a concussion on his head. He is suffering from a loss of memory. The paper has moved him to a job proofreading the comic strips it carries, but even at that, his mind is not what it once was. When Cooper's mother Belle calls asking to help her with an uncle that appears to be getting incapable of living alone, he decides to go see what is really going on.What Cooper finds is his uncle Rollie, who is definitely not all there. Yet, the old man has moments of lucidity. Rollie, an independent minded soul is aging with all the problems the declining process carries. Rollie is sort of a dreamer; he has several passions, like fishing, writing poetry, but ideas become jumbled in his head. Cooper gets to know that someone is trying to steal a valuable baseball card, in pristine condition, that was given to Rollie by his own grandfather. Belle thinks that selling the card will bring some badly needed cash that Rollie does not have.In going back to the small place where he was born, Cooper reacquaints himself with his former girlfriend, Charlotte, now a divorced lady with a young son. Charlotte, a painter, must go to Chicago for a presentation of her painting to a restaurant chain. Cooper thinks he can interest Rollie in selling his valuable card at a baseball convention. Unfortunately, Rollie is about to be swindled into accepting not even a small fraction of the value. Terry Kinney, better known as an actor and director with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, is at the helm of this pleasant, if light comedy. Based on a book by Sherwood Kiraly, the film has a thin plot, but it is engaging while one is watching it. The folks we meet are people one could relate to. The indignities of growing old and having to depend on others weighs heavily in the story. It also deals with loss of memory, as seems to be a metaphor for those things one tends to forget with the passing of time.Matthew Broderick plays Cooper with his usual boyish charm. The wonderful Virginia Madsen adds a touch of class with her Charlotte. The great Alan Alda makes a case for his Rollie, a man who sees everything suddenly out of his control. Bobby Cannavale and Dylan Baker, two excellent character actors are seen as a bad and a good guy in the baseball card business. Legendary Ernie Banks has a cameo role."Diminished Capacity" will resonate with viewers looking for an enjoyable and peaceful time with the company of regular people, something that sometimes is forgotten by Hollywood.

I must admit when I rented this movie it was largely because of its cast. I always liked Matthew Broderick and Virginia Madsen. The talents of Alan Alda go without saying ... Hawkeye as part of M*A*S*H was legendary to say the least.I quickly found I was deeply interested in this movie as it began playing maybe because of what we went through with my own uncle who developed a form of dementia that accompanied his Parkinson's Disease I don't know but I was hooked.The antics at times were funny and like other movies very serious at other times. Broderick's character is also suffering from his own memory problems due to a severe concussion and can at least understand some of what his uncle is going through. Though unlike his uncle, his neurologist states he should get better ...Alda as the uncle is excellent in this movie, funny at times but very poignant and serious at other times - as he looks into the mirror his reflection that appears back is haunting and vacant. But he tries to deal with it though at times certainly gets things muddled.Madsen also is very good in this movie as the now divorced old flame but is very strong as her relationship with Broderick's character rekindles itself. Her scenes with her son are also very touching as she tries to deal with his problems. Her character certainly though is not one dimensional as her own potential career as an artist are developed in the movie as well. Her paintings in fact were the reason for her visit to Chicago in the first place but her roots clearly are in their hometown. Madsen in this film is radiant as she has ever been. If she was stunning in the 80s she is radiant now and has only improved her craft and skills.Overall a good movie, well acted and well written. If you like movies with substance and something to them with family themes behind it this is the movie for you. Well worth the watch.

Maybe Diminished Capacity isn't "all that and a bag of chips," as a friend of mine is fond of saying. But I'll tell you what, it's pretty funny. I think I heard more laughing than anything I've seen at Sundance since Napoleon Dynamite and Little Miss Sunshine. That bodes well for the box office prospects of this film.Alan Alda gives a terrific performance as Rollie Zerb, a small-town Missouri old-timer with Alzheimer's, who lives with his sister (and some hilarious but unidentified guy named Wendell in a trailer by the house). They are visited by Cooper (Matthew Broderick), who arrives at his mother's request to help talk Uncle Rollie into a nursing home. Cooper has mental problems of his own, due to a recent concussion. While back in town, he runs into Charlotte (Virginia Madsen), his high school sweetheart who is recently divorced from the town mayor. And somehow Rollie, Cooper, Charlotte and her son wind up heading to Chicago, where they are going to try to sell Uncle Rollie's rare baseball card of Frank Schulte, from the 1908 Chicago Cubs (the last Cubbies team to win the World Series!).Broderick is solid, in his awkward, understated way. Madsen is the straight woman. But Alan Alda makes the movie as Uncle Rollie, and dominates the screen in almost every scene. And yes, if you squint you'll see shades of Hawkeye Pierce, but his Rollie character is a complete departure from anything he has done in the past, and probably his best comedic performance since MASH.The script is very well-written, if a bit awkward at parts, and under the direction of veteran actor Terry Kinney, the action moves along briskly. There is probably more tension than there needs to be, which doesn't really fit. But when you're not wincing, you're generally laughing. There are some hilarious lines, and a plenty of feel-good vibe. Everyone will like this movie.Sundance Moment: Broderick was much better on stage than I would have expected. He was there with his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, whose movie Smart People had premiered at Sundance the night before. Alan Alda was charming as well. Bobby Canavale was in two movies playing at Sundance this year, the other being The Merry Gentleman.