Mr. Brooks could be called a twisted, modern, lesser version of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. I call it a disappointment.

Kevin Costner plays Mr. Earl Brooks, a much adored father, husband, business man and philanthropist who is hiding a terrible secret; he the notorious Thumbprint serial killer. Brooks managed to keep his identity secret until the voice in his head, Marshall (William Hurt) talks him into another killing. Soon Mr. Smith (Dane Cook) and Detective Tracy Atwood (Demi Moore) are hot on his tail. Always one step ahead, trying to evade capture, Mr. Brooks does his best to not slip up.

Mr. Brooks won’t be winning any awards for best movie but it does have some pleasurable aspects. Much of the movie is a conversation between Earl Brooks and his split identity Marshall. He has conversations with him when other people are around; they talk to the audience but the other characters can’t hear. Often the discussions they have are so ridiculous and quirky you can’t help but laugh out loud. There is one scene where they say something like “He wants to kill us,” and then both break out into almost synchronous laughter. Every single time there is this synchronous laughter, I felt a chill go halfway up my spine as I too laughed with the characters.

Kevin Costner and William Hurt have great chemistry. It isn’t just the comical scenes that often work, but also the serious ones. They have conversations as if they are old friends with no secrets. Marshall will occasionally have an adult version of a temper tantrum. He never goes too far as to turn off the audience, but he goes far enough to make it a little disturbing that the character is having a fight with himself. Kevin Costner never takes Brooks out of his nearly stoic demeanor. Their conversations were my favorite part of the movie.