The recap of evolution is one of the most brilliant

...performances ever recorded on film. About the only thing comparable that comes to mind is Vincent D'Onofrio's performance in "Men in Black."

That bit just by itself makes the whole movie worth it.

But there are plenty of other things that make the movie worthwhile --

Judy Graubart, mysteriously underemployed since "The Electric Company," in one of her few movie performances.

Some movies seem to get unfairly panned not because of quality but because they combine fairly subversive ideas with a relaxed and confident tone. Somebody somewhere may find that threatening.

I recall when "Fight Club" first opened it got near-universal bad reviews. Now it's on plenty of lists of all-time great movies.

"Simon" is one of these, I think.

There's also a very New York/Northeast specificity that may make the movie difficult for some. (Brickman earlier was Woody Allen's writing partner.) For example, the relationship between NYU and Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study.

But if people can exert themselves to get a French or a Japanese movie, they certainly can make the effort here. It's worth it.