Flash of Genius (2008)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Marc Abraham

Writers (WGA):

Philip Railsback (written by)
John Seabrook (article)

Release Date:

3 October 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Corporations have time, money, and power on their side. All Bob Kearns had was the truth.

Plot:

Robert Kearns takes on the Detroit automakers who he claims stole his idea for the intermittent windshield wiper.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Teacher | Automobile Industry | Automobile | Inventor

Awards:

1 win

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 11	9:30 AM	HBO
Mon. Nov. 16	12:00 PM	HBO

Cast

Greg Kinnear	...	Bob Kearns
Tim Eddis	...	Maryland Cop #1
Warren Belle	...	Maryland Cop #2
Karl Pruner	...	Pete
Bill Lake	...	Scott
Dermot Mulroney	...	Gil Previck
Lauren Graham	...	Phyllis Kearns
Landon Norris	...	Young Dennis
Shae Norris	...	Young Kathy
Steven Woodworth	...	Young Tim
Victoria Learn	...	Young Maureen
Dylan Authors	...	Young Patrick
Ronn Sarosiak	...	Reverend
Gavin Kuiack	...	Baby Bob Jr.
Ben Kuiak	...	Baby Bob Jr.

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

USA:119 min | Canada:119 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44181) | Australia:PG | UK:12A | Ireland:PG | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Greg Kinnear had the screenplay sitting on his nightstand for several months but didn't think the subject matter warranted a read.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The period was between 1967 and 1974. In 1970 the main character, Bob Kearns, took a bus to Washington, DC. We see it is a Greyhound bus. However, that model type bus, the MC9, had not been built for several years in the future.

Movie Connections:

References Frankenstein (1931)

Soundtrack:

Too Many Fish in the Sea

Admirable For Scientific Information

One of the outstanding virtues of this movie is the didactic sections, informing audiences a little about electrical circuits without interrupting the story. Inventor Bob Kearns and, later, an attorney representing Ford Motor Co. both talk about capacitors and resistors lightly. It enables lay folk to get a peek inside their electrical and electronic devices, even to "spark" curiosity in some viewers. Some of our general fiction literature but our general fiction films rarely are didactic about science, even though they have the capacity to teach--one thinks of John Steinbeck, of Herman Melville before him, and of some contemporary novelists, too.