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DIMINISHED CAPACITY

"Charming But Problematic"

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What You Need To Know:

DIMINISHED CAPACITY is the story of Cooper who, while recovering from a major concussion, attempts to help his aging uncle Rollie sell a one of a kind baseball card at a collectors show. Cooper has memory lapses because of his injury, and Rollie is in early stages of dementia, operating with “diminished capacity.” Calling themselves “Slow and Slower,” they battle a rabid Cubs fan and a crooked dealer to sell the card, whose sale would allow Rollie to stay out of an institution.

The story in DIMINISHED CAPACITY is small and straightforward, but the depth of the relationships and the acting are tremendous. The movie is uplifting. Both Alan Alda and Matthew Broderick create memorable performances with just the right amount of pathos and humor. Regrettably, there is a significant amount of foul language in the movie, most of it from Rollie. The 18 profanities especially make the movie difficult to sit through, despite its charm and craftsmanship. Otherwise, the story is wisely missing many negative elements such as sexual content and nudity that mar many other movies. Because of the foul language, media-wise adult viewers will want to exercise discernment.

Content:

(H, BB, LLL, V, AA, M) Light humanist worldview with no mention of God, but there is some strong moral content because kindness is often displayed; 35 obscenities and 18 profanities; men get into fist fight, along with threatening with gun which is played mostly for laughs; no sexual content; no nudity; beer drinking in bar, supporting character is often drunk; no smoking or drugs; and, attempted stealing by villains and taking advantage of elderly man.

More Detail:

DIMINISHED CAPACITY is the story of Cooper (played by Matthew Broderick) who, while recovering from a major concussion, attempts to help his aging uncle Rollie (played by Alan Alda) sell a one of a kind baseball card at a collectors trade show. Cooper has memory lapses because of his injury, and Rollie is in early stages of dementia, operating with “diminished capacity.” Calling themselves “Slow and Slower,” they battle a rabid Cubs fan and a crooked dealer to sell the card, which will allow Rollie to stay out of an institution.

This charming story has many warm smiles and laughs as the two men struggle with their mental impairments, yet attempt to hold on to their dignity. Cooper meets up with his childhood sweetheart and summons the courage to start a relationship, even with his impairments. The story is small and straightforward, but the depth of the relationships in the story and the acting are tremendous. Both Alda and Broderick create memorable performances with just the right amount of pathos and humor and effectively create characters that laugh at their own difficulties but keep the viewers from laughing at them.

The supporting characters round out the quirky ensemble. There is much charm to the story. For instance, Rollie has rigged a typewriter up to a fishing hole so that, when fish nibble the bait, the typewriter hits a key. He is convinced that the fish are writing poetry. That’s the type of quirky, offbeat humor the movie delivers.

Regrettably, there is a significant amount of foul language in the movie, most of it coming from Rollie. The 18 profanities especially make the movie difficult to sit through, despite its charm and craftsmanship. Otherwise, the story is wisely missing many negative elements such as sexual content and nudity that mar many other movies. Because of the foul language, media-wise adult viewers will want to exercise discernment about choosing to watch DIMINISHED CAPACITY.