Zero Charisma Review

Scott Weidemeyer doesn’t appear to be one of life’s winners. An overweight thirty-something, he lives with his grandmother, works in a donut shop, and is about as attractive to women as a malignant tumour.

But every Tuesday night all that changes when Scott takes charge of a table-top role-playing game and transforms into the Games Master. During these epic sessions he builds worlds, crafts stories, and takes his geeky chums on a series of incredible fantasy adventures.

The game is thrown into turmoil when one of his crew has to leave for marital reasons however, leaving a seat open. And with Scott able to count his friends on the fingers of one hand, he struggles to fill the spot; until that is, he runs into hipster nerd Miles, who immediately jumps at the chance.

Trouble is, Miles is cooler than Scott, funnier than Scott, better looking than Scott, and more charismatic than Scott. The founding editor of GeekChic.com, as soon as Miles arrives at the game, beers in hand, the dynamic at the table changes, and master Scott starts losing his grip on the game.

On top of that, his grandmother falls ill with a stroke, his estranged mother returns for reasons that don’t appear altogether honourable, and Greg Goran – the godfather of table-top gaming – heads to town, the excitement of which very nearly pushes Scott over the edge.

What follows is a smart, funny and sensitive character study of a true anti-hero. Scott has obvious anger and abandonment issues, a huge ego that’s masking mammoth insecurity, and episodes of complete and utter delusion.

But he’s also a geek with a heart of gold; a good guy struggling with the hand that life has dealt him, and lashing out when the one thing that makes his existence bearable looks like it might be taken away.

It’s a tough role, and one that the film completely and utterly depends upon, but Sam Eidson is perfect in the part, delivering a touching and multi-layered performance.

Too often characters of this sort are hackneyed and one-dimensional – think The Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy brought to life – but Eidson imbues Scott with just the right combination of sadness, humour, pathos and rage so that he becomes a geek hero for the ages.

His thoughtful turn is aided and abetted by Andrew Matthews' smart script, which gently pokes fun at the ‘nerd herd’ without ever outright mocking them, and even finds something new to say about the eternal battle between Star Trek and Star Wars fans.

Trouble comes as the film nears its conclusion however, with the narrative building to a whimper rather than a bang. The film certainly has much to say about not judging a book by its cover, modern man’s refusal to grow up, the relative merits of video games vs table-top, and the dangers of having a nemesis.

But the story doesn’t delve much deeper, with the narrative never quite taking flight and the finale somewhat underwhelming. The result is a somewhat slight tale, which is frustrating when you’ve invested so much time and emotion in Scott’s plight.

But that lack of substance aside, it’s also a sweet, effective and wholly touching tale; a film that gives voice to the geeks of the world, and one that deserves to find an audience in gamers and non-gamers alike.