Sundance BuzzCheck™: 'Diminished Capacity'

"Feel free to laugh," said director Terry Kinney before the premiere of Diminished Capacity, his comedy about Alzheimer’s, baseball cards, and going home again — and the audience was happy to oblige. Starring Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, and anchored by the always-excellent Alan Alda, the movie was warmly received by the folks at Eccles tonight, with one woman standing up simply to scream out "BRAVO!!" during the Q&A. I was sitting next to one of the film’s financiers, and he told me beforehand that I was free to hate the movie — which is seeking distribution — but I didn’t. It’s my second head injury picture in as many days (after Smart People yesterday, coincidentally starring Broderick’s wife, who you may have heard of), and I’d watch a third, at this rate. Seems the Broderick/Jessica Parker family figures the airfare to Park City was worth it. As Matthew said at the podium tonight, "This was a good weekend." Could get better: Buyers have yet to drop a big wad of cash on anything, and this project has talent to burn. Could it score the first big money on this special Sundance edition of Press Your Luck? Stay tuned. No whammies. —Whitney Pastorek