The Zeros

This film is amazingly refreshing in its heartfelt and quirky simplicity.

Mackenzie Astin is perfect; not being familiar with his work I would say, at face value, that this is his opus. Perhaps he is simply a very good actor, or perhaps one can recognize just how involved he became with this character.

Independent film these days is always searching for a hook or something that will make it sell or become a cult classic - unlike films of the past that evolved into cult status organically without the influence of Hollywood number crunchers.

The story is beautiful - all of these lonely people, "orphans," find each other and a new meaning in life through the warning of death - watch as Average Joe does things that all of us want to do (pummel perverts, kiss pretty girls, shoot...things) but like him we refrain- but Joe's outta time and it's time to let go, and find the one person he ever met that was not bound by what holds all of us back when we're scared of what might happen the next day. A noble effort from a meek man.

the rich dry humor is classic and there is a certain repetition and flow that the director chooses that i find to be quite entertaining. the other actors are great - especially the other Zeros. watch for the hilarious hotel clerks- - wonderful awkward pauses - an endearing grandma and raining cow guts.

aside for some uneven make up as Joe's health depletes - I wouldn't change a single thing from this fun and moving film.

good morning wont you get up? its a beautiful day.

The main problem I have with comparisons to David Lynch is that they rarely describe something that actually feels like David Lynch. It was with this in mind that I begrudgingly picked up "The Zeros", a newspaper quote emblazoned on the box cover making that inevitable comparison.

Forget David Lynch. Think Samuel Beckett and Albert Camus. Granted, this movie is strange, but not for effect; this movie is strange because without the strangeness it would be impossible to evoke the same emotional response and connection to the involved characters.

In "The Zeros", we have a classically doomed protagonist, Joe, suffering from an unidentified disease and trying to get back to a girl he knew in childhood, but whose significance to Joe remains blurred until the end of the movie. The beauty of this movie is that while it seems on the surface to be an oddball take on a buddy/road trip theme, it is delivered without resorting to one-liners or polished humor. The entire thing feels like the actors read the script once and then played out the characters the way they remembered them without dwelling too heavily on the specifics, making this feel like the most real performance ever of a completely absurd story.

It's always strange to find out that a character you're watching is someone you don't know that you know. Such was the case with Mackenzie Astin in "The Zeros", who I haven't seen since the old Disney movie "Iron Will" nearly a decade ago. Now I feel compelled to go back and find out what else he's done.

Throughout the movie, the cast of characters (who in any other movie would seem stale and depressing) stays keenly real. The beautiful capturing of this story, from the protagonist sitting alone in the desert to scenes of people doing nothing more than reacting to one another and searching for the right word, makes it seem like you have discovered somebody's lost home video, and it just happened to be terribly interesting.

The dialogue between Mackenzie Astin and John Ales is some of the best performed, ever. There are many potential pitfalls and so many ways they can ruin this script- it seems a very easy beast to get wrong- but they never falter. Watch this. Watch this if for no other reason than these guys give a wonderful performance. Watch this if you want to see Kyle Gass argue with a puppet. The script may be odd, but David Lynch this is not. It's too bizarre. It feels too real. I only wish it had been longer.

This is a movie that needs a bit of work. This is not a shameful review, of a movie, that, fully-realized, might be wonderful. Mackenzie Aston clearly holds this movie in his heart. I liked this movie. There is a plot , a heart, a mind and a joy to this story. I wish it were only told. Mr. Aston needs a director and script which successfully transforms his idea into a movie. Aston is not at fault for this failed attempt at a movie. I sincerely and respectfully request that Mr. Aston begin again. He will SUCCEED. Mr.Aston will never succeed if he does not TRY. Aston and his fellow actors SUCCEED in acting, in this movie. The movie, The Zeros, is a fine attempt, but a failed attempt.