Diminished Capacity (2008)

Image credit: Jessica Miglio

CAPACITY SLICKERS Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda are road-trippers dealing with cognitive hurdles in Diminished, a dramedy that veers from sweet to slapstick

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The two stars of the sweet, minor-key dramedy Diminished Capacity both suffer from the not-operating-with-a-full-deck malady of the title — sad-sack Chicago newspaperman Cooper (Matthew Broderick) due to a grade-3 concussion, and his dotty country uncle Rollie (Alan Alda) because of encroaching Alzheimer's. When the pair embark on a road trip from Missouri back to the Windy City to sell Rollie's valuable vintage baseball card (with Virginia Madsen along for the ride as Broderick's former small-town love), the result is fairly silly slapstick, but Alda, hair disheveled and brow knit with stubborn intent, is both fierce and quietly heartbreaking. B+