Antitrust

Antitrust (2001)

Runtime: 109 minutes


Directed by: Peter Howitt


Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Tim Robbins


From: MGM

I know, I wasn't planning on watching yet another movie involving a certain actress but I saw this was playing earlier tonight on MGMHD and it was at midnight so I had to wait and watch that before I could do this.

It's certainly a movie I've heard of before but never seen; it's a surprise, given not only who is in it but also because it's a goofy thriller about the computer industry. Basically, this movie's evil corporation is clearly supposed to be Microsoft and its Bill Gates is an evil son of a bitch who does some horrible things; thus it's a big love letter to the open-source movement, meaning that everyone should have access to the code of software and change it and improve it how they see fit, such as Linux, where Microsoft is of course closed source.

But I'll spare that nerditry and get on to talking about this movie, which revolves around Ryan's character getting hired by N.U.R.V., run by the Not Bill Gates known as Gary Winston (Robbins); things seem to be fine at first. After all, Ryan has a lovely g/f (Forlani) and he gets to know a female employee there (Cook; lucky guy). But then he discovers some bad things going down and he has to try and stop it. A Department of Justice guy (Richard Roundtree!) also gets involved.

The movie is rather silly and ridiculous (especially as it nears its conclusion) but it's still entertaining for what it is. The techno-babble isn't overwhelming so even if you aren't a geek you should be able to follow what's going on. You see plenty of goofy things... that makes the movie fun to watch. How can you not laugh at a big plot point being a character having a severe allergic reaction to sesame seeds, or how there's a jump scare involving a gerbil in its cage? Heck, Forlani's character drives a Citroen 2CV, an old car which you may recognize as that goofy-looking yellow car James Bond has to drive for a few minutes while going down the mountainside in For Your Eyes Only.

There are many computer-related phrases and words out there that can be applied to sex/dirty talk. I'll restrain myself from being lewd, but I'll say that Ms. Cook usually makes me require the use of a heatsink, so to speak, and she looked rather nice in this movie. It's inoffensive so if you enjoy thrillers where underdogs try to take down a big corporation then by all means check this out.

I'll be back Monday night.