I.Q. (1994)

A mechanic romances the mathematician niece of physicist Albert Einstein, with help from him and his friends.

Director:

Fred Schepisi

Writers:

Andy Breckman (story), Andy Breckman (screenplay)

Stars:

Tim Robbins, Meg Ryan, Walter Matthau

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Robbins	...	Ed Walters
Meg Ryan	...	Catherine Boyd
Walter Matthau	...	Albert Einstein
Lou Jacobi	...	Kurt Gödel
Gene Saks	...	Boris Podolsky
Joseph Maher	...	Nathan Liebknecht
Stephen Fry	...	James Moreland
Tony Shalhoub	...	Bob Rosetti
Frank Whaley	...	Frank
Charles Durning	...	Louis Bamberger
Keene Curtis	...	Eisenhower
Alice Playten	...	Gretchen
Danny Zorn	...	Dennis
Helen Hanft	...	Rose
Roger Berlind	...	Duncan

Storyline

Ed Walters, an auto mechanic, falls for the intelligent and beautiful Catherine Boyd. It is love at first sight. There is however a problem: she's engaged to stuffy professor James Moreland. Fortunately, her uncle likes Ed, and he and his friends scheme to make her fall for Ed. The comedy in this movie stems from the fact that her uncle is none other than Albert Einstein, who's portrayed as a fun loving humble genius, as are his mischievous friends, Nathan, Kurt, and Boris.

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Plot Keywords:

genius | mechanic | laboratory animal | man wears eyeglasses | initialism in title | 

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Taglines:

Think Love.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gene Saks and Alice Drummond also appeared in Nobody's Fool (1994), released on the same year as this film.

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Goofs

The radio-control transmitter which Einstein uses near the end of the movie is definitely much more modern than 1950s.

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Quotes

Albert Einstein: God does not play dice with the universe, but I will.

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Crazy Credits

Several characters' names are given incorrectly in the credits; Stephen Fry's character is spelled "James Morland" without the E, Lou Jacobi's character Kurt Gödel is spelled with no umlaut over the O, and Tony Shalhoub's character is titled "Bob Watters," not Bob Rosetti as given throughout the film.

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Iconic Meg Ryan Romance Movies (2019)

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Soundtracks

WHITE CITY
by John Kaye
Courtesy of Cavendish Music

User Reviews

Great idea, no chemistry

I was somewhat disappointed in I.Q., having heard a bit of "buzz" about it in recent months. What we have is a neat premise, auto mechanic in 50's New Jersey happens to meet the niece of Albert Einstein, pursues her romantically, and along the way meets Albert and his retired cronies. If I could fault the film for two reasons, they would be a weak script, and lack of chemistry between Tim Robbins and Meg Ryan. On the positive side, Walter Matthau was perfectly cast as the elderly Einstein, who became Ryan's guardian when his brother died. The scenery and evocation of small town 1950's New Jersey, including numerous vintage cars of the era, was very well done. I thought the motorcycle ride was one of the highlights of the film. Tim Robbins' character seems to change abruptly when he undergoes a fashion and hairstyle makeover. Whereas before this he was confident and assertive, through the rest of the story he seems troubled, jittery and low in self-esteem. Something about Meg Ryan's character bothered me, and I never really bought into the notion that this intellectual would be seriously interested in Robbins. Also, I think Einstein's three wacky "buddies" are in way too many scenes for the amount of corny humor they actually provide. To sum up, passable romantic comedy with a happy ending that fans of the genre may enjoy, but it could have been so much better.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

25 December 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

I.Q.

Filming Locations:

Cranbury, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,131,201, 26 December 1994

Gross USA:

$26,381,221

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$26,381,221

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Sandollar

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1