If there's one simple request I have of Kevin Spacey, it's that he take one movie off from wearing a suit. Mix it up! Grow your hair out! Wear schlubby clothes! Don't always be so Kevin Spacey-esque, Kevin Spacey, because it's become a thing and we're all tired of it. Which is why the new trailer for the indie comedy Father of Invention seems a step in the right direction. Long prison beard and an everyman's sense of humility? Bring it on, Spaceman.
Spacey stars in the indie comedy as Robert Axle, a formerly slick infomercial king who gets taken down a notch when his latest ab-cruncher/remote control gadget winds up chopping off the fingers of customers, sending him to jail. Once back out, Axle's must rebuild his life from the ground up, working at a big box store for minimum wage and reconnecting with his grown daughter (Camilla Belle).
The official synopsis:
Millionaire infomercial guru, Robert Axle (Kevin Spacey) loses everything when one of his inventions has a design flaw that accidentally chops off the fingers of thousands of customers. After serving eight 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 is forced to move in with his estranged daughter (Camilla Belle) and her over-protective roommates. Despite these setbacks he is determined to pitch his newest gadget and rebuild his infomercial empire. But the world has changed in the last decade, and Axle finds himself out of step with current technology, his family, and the self-confidence that made him king of the infomercials in the past. With all his wheels spinning, Axle soon realizes before he can be successful with his new creation, first he must reinvent himself.
Yes, it's all so damn quirky-seeming, in an age when the q word is enough to prompt instantaneous eye-rolling no matter the premise. The font on the poster? Straight outta the post-Juno school of Indie Marketing 101. Director Trent Cooper's last movie? Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector. The last time Spacey played a sympathetic character? Feels like ages ago. Needless to say, there are a lot of hurdles for Father of Invention to overcome, but the cast seems to pull it off with decent aplomb judging from the trailer. And besides: The plot is basically The Beaver minus the crippling manic-depression, the puppet, and Mel Gibson. A winner already?
Verdict: In infomercial terms, not Nads-level bad. Not Shake Weight-level brilliant. (But then, what is?)
Father of Invention will be released theatrically by Anchor Bay on October 14.