Zero Charisma (2013)

As Good As It Gets

Absolutely the worst movie.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This movie was incredibly disappointing, as it had plenty of potential but lacked any payoff or real redemption. First of all Scott's drug addict mother who abandoned her son comes back to humiliate him in front of his friends in the most crass and juvenile way imaginable. That is just pathetic and was hard to watch. Second, Scott's grandmother just agrees to sell her home to pay her useless daughter's debts and move into a nursing home? I mean seriously, no grandparent would agree to this. Finally Scott winds up playing RPGs with the elderly at the end? Just about anyone could have written a better script. WTF did I just watch?

This movie is raw truth! Pure emotion, overwhelming, distracting, painful, absolutely gut wrenching. I knew someone exactly like this, and it is as if Zero Charisma plucked him out of real life. Nothing I write can accurately describe the way this film and character made me feel. As if I was pulled back in time to high school experiencing the controlling menace of our local game master. Scott Weidemeyer represents more than some stereotype. This individual is complex, on so many levels. The scenes with his mother are horrific. I have an issue with a high level of empathy, and upon seeing a lot of these interactions like many, I cringe. On top of that I feel, not pity like some, but an overwhelming connection to a fellow human being isolated and alone. Everything about this movie, the soundtrack, the flow, the pacing, the scenery shot in Austin, TX. I loved it all! Scott experienced so much shame throughout his life. Being abandoned by his mother, embarrassed at every turn, his only positive interaction is his grandmother who doesn't relate to him at all, no role models, nothing except the steady growth of resentment. I recommend this to anyone interested in character driven stories that just so happen to involve board games. Only critique of the entire film though, *SPOILER ALERT*, no way could he drop him with a body shot.

It's not good if you even want to know. I was expecting something else, but this is just a D&D crazed bully who treats everyone around him badly, and never understands why they always want to get him back (yes, I get the plot) It just sucks, and the guy is too much of a looser, and way too much of a bully to ever be redeemable. The cast is trying to give you a good movie, and the over all production is pretty decent, the story just needed more reasons to like Scott. I would not recommend this movie to anyone unless I was really mad at them for something and I wanted to be a jerk, I did not Enjoy this movie, and I doubt you will either.

I had such high hopes for this movie, as an avid D&D player through my college years and a fan of MMOs. Finally, the geeks get their due. We've got a gamer protagonist who is both sympathetic and pitiable. I rooted for him, I felt bad for him, I felt embarrassed for him. He does everything he can, but his luck is just terrible. His nemesis is better looking than him, has more friends, a better website, and he might be smarter, but he's also a bit douchey. A little stuck up. At first he looks like he might be the better man, but as we learn more about him, maybe not. Someone in another review compared this to Taxi Driver, and I can see why they'd say that. By the end I kept wondering how poor Scott could ever rectify his situation. There were people I was hoping he would just go mad and attack, because it looked like there was nothing else left for him to do. I'm avoiding spoilers here, but let me say that I was very disappointed in the ending. I think our hero deserved better than he got. If you're a table top gamer or you like RPGs or MMOs, definitely give it watch, but beware the finale. It's not as good as it could've been, by far.