Zero Charisma

If you are a lover of role-playing games, as I am, then you just definitely have got to watch "Zero Charisma". Where as the movie "Gamerz" was great, then "Zero Charisma" totally re-invents the foundation of this geeky genre.

The story is about Scott (played by Sam Eidson) who lives with his grandmother (played by Anne Gee Byrd). Scott is an avid fan of fantasy role-playing games and a metalhead, and has spent the last three years on his campaign, where he is the Game Master for his friends. When one have to drop out of the game, due to personal reasons (read, actually having a wife who wants to separate him), Scott has to find a replacement for the group. Enter Miles (played by Garrett Graham) who has it all, and Scott quickly finds himself without control of the game and his world - both real and imaginary - comes tumbling down around him.

What makes this movie great? Well it is a good comedy, especially because it is a geeky comedy. There are hilarious moments in the movie, just as there are awkward moments. The characters are well portrayed, had lots of personality (no Charisma 0 here, you gamers will get this one!), and were easy to grow attached to.

Now, from an avid role-player of Dungeons & Dragons for just about 27 years, then there were so many aspects to this movie that just strikes familiar and true to the point where it was downright scary. Us role-playing people tend to have odd routines and rituals, and oddly enough tend to listen to metal. There were so many things in the movie that could easily be painted on me or the guys I play D&D with.

"Zero Charisma" progresses at a nice pace, building up the story quite nicely. However, the ending was a bit too much in my opinion, and the movie would have fared better with a different ending. But hey, we all have different likes and dislikes.

Regardless of you being a role-player, familiar with the fantasy (or Sci-Fi) RPG games or not, then "Zero Charisma" is a great movie with lots of fun and great situations. If you enjoy geeky comedies, then you definitely need to watch this movie.

I raise my sword and roll my d10 dice, with "Zero Charisma" scoring a well-deserved 7 out of 10 star rating.

The negative reviews here are most likely from guys for whom this movie struck a nerve. The acting and writing are excellent. You know this because this movie actually causes the viewer to feel compassion for and root for a character who is very nearly a complete solipsistic, self-absorbed buffoon. I don't know how someone could view it and find no comedy in it, unless they so strongly identify with the main character that they too acutely feel his pain. I was chuckling throughout and the perfectly delivered line "You wish!" made me lose it.

A big part of the humor is that the main character is a devotee of what is itself even a fading form of nerddom: the Dungeons and Dragons inspired tabletop fantasy role-playing game, and that he's even been able to assemble a clique of players for his own homemade, unpublished specimen. It's one of those domains in which the competition is so fierce because the stakes are so small.

The movie reminded me a little of the also excellent Big Fan (2009), another humorous character study of an obsessed man-child.

I was surprised, after watching it, to see how old this movie was. The actors in it, esp. The lead, deserve more additional roles and recognition than they've gotten.

Very dark character study of a damaged person that is painful to watch at times and doesn't exactly provide any catharsis or character growth. But it does paint a vivid picture of one sad, sad man and his world.

This was a really funny little film, and one that you should definitely see if you like tabletop games or nerd culture in general. The characters of this film are perfect representations of the kind of people you meet if you are into this scene.

Sam Eidson is completely spot on as the overweight fantasy loving neckbearded manchild Scott and is a perfect caricature of the overbearing control freak Gamemasters that I have met many times. Watching him alienate everyone around him is painful to watch but at the same time hilarious

A very funny film, and one that actually manages to captures how socially stunted and unbearable these people can be.

This film was more a tragedy than a comedy. It follows the trials of Scott an overweight D&D aficionado who lives utterly for and mostly in the fantasy world he has created for his fellow gamers. He has no girlfriend, prospects, true friends or social life outside his D&D set. Whenever he is faced with any challenge to his world he flies into a childlike tantrum only serving to make things worse. Because of this last I had very little pity for Scott and in most cases thought he received his just desserts.

The plot of the film doesn't really progress anywhere although Sam Eidson's portrayal of Scott was superb. The film revolves utterly around Scott so the poor performances of the remaining cast go unnoticed.

This film is not a "Comedy." I did not laugh once. Considering the sad and depressing nature of Scott's life and the fact that he appears to learn no real lesson or change any facet of his character by the film's conclusion it can only be seen as a tragedy. And a poor one at that.