Movies:
I.Q.
DVD Release
- Release Date: 2003
- Widescreen version enhanced for 16:9 TVs
- Dolby Digital: English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Stereo Surround
- cc
- English subtitles
- Rating:
- Genre: Romance
- Movie Type: Romantic Comedy
- Themes: Matchmakers, Opposites Attract, Otherwise Engaged
- Director: Fred Schepisi
- Main Cast: Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, Walter Matthau, Lou Jacobi, Gene Saks
- Release Year: 1994
- Country: US
- Run Time: 95 minutes
- MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Legendary scientist Albert Einstein (played here by Walter Matthau) takes a break from theoretical physics to try to set up his intellectual niece with a handsome auto mechanic in this romantic comedy. The movie's central conceit is that Einstein's brilliance extends to matters of the heart, allowing him to immediately sense that Ed Walters (Tim Robbins), a bright, lower-class mechanic obsessed with Popular Science Magazine, would be perfect for his niece Catherine (Meg Ryan). Unfortunately, Catherine is already engaged to a stiff Princeton man. In order to defeat Catherine's resistance, Uncle Albert decides to help Ed pretend to be a revolutionary scientist, a charade that inevitably leads to much farcical confusion. Einstein's scientist pals are portrayed as a Greek chorus of Catskills-style kibitzers, featuring such notable perfomers as Lou Jacobi as Kurt Godel and director Gene Saks as Boris Podolsky. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie GuideReview
The syrup flows freely in this too cute but somewhat amusing romantic comedy from director Fred Schepisi, who strives for but fails to attain the charm and energy of his previous winner Roxanne (1987). The lovebird leads are instantly forgettable: Meg Ryan gives one of her trademark "smart but clueless" performances, while Tim Robbins re-creates his low-wattage character from Bull Durham (1988) sans the cocky swagger. It may not be entirely on the actors' shoulders, as their characters (and thus their performances) lack any edge, brittleness, or originality that might have rendered them believable and worthy of sympathy and identification. What works quite well here, however, is the screenplay's quirky and lovable concept that casts Albert Einstein (ably portrayed by Walter Matthau) as a mensch accompanied by a gaggle of kvetching yes-men straight out of Neil Simon or Woody Allen, for whom physics is a distant second to playing Cupid. The genuinely cute idea here is that Einstein is so smart, his true genius is to realize that love and chemistry are more important than compatibility or brains. For those able to suspend disbelief long enough to buy that a high intelligence quotient equals wisdom and good-heartedness, I.Q. will prove diverting. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie GuideCast
- Tim Robbins - Ed Walters
- Meg Ryan - Catherine Boyd
- Walter Matthau - Albert Einstein
- Lou Jacobi - Kurt Godel
- Gene Saks - Boris Podolsky
Joseph Maher - Nathan Liebknecht; Stephen Fry - James Moreland; Tony Shalhoub - Bob Rosetti; Frank Whaley - Frank; Scotty Bloch - Dinner Guest; Jeff Brooks - Reporter; Keene Curtis - Eisenhower; Alice Drummond - Dinner guest; Charles Durning - Louis Bamberger; Sol Frieder - Professor Loewenstein; Helen Hanft - Rose; Tim Jerome - Academic; Alice Playten - Gretchen; Rex Robbins - Suit; Lewis J. Stadlen - Moderator; Daniel Von Bargen - Secret service agent; Richard Woods - Suit; Danny Zorn - Dennis; Leo Leyden - Dinner Guest; John McDonough - Academic
