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Meg Ryan is a bimbo who we are supposed to believe is a bright scientist (Anna Nicole Smith would be about as convincing the role). Tim Robbins is the auto mechanic love-interest who is smarter than he appears. Walter Matthau is Albert Einstein (or rather, the worst fucking Einstein impersonator ever), who just happens to be the uncle of Ryan's ditzy heroine. He plays matchmaker, trying to bring the two together, while cavorting around the countryside with his old scientist cronies and engaging in supposedly knee-slapping hijinks. Meanwhile, all of them spout really stupid scientific jargon and try to parlay it into even stupider jokes.

It's a Romantic Comedy without a bit of romantic chemistry or a solitary laugh. This is the most ill-concieved idea since they made Schwarznegger pregnant. It is wistfully, woefully, ignorantly bad, even more so than Ryan's usual smarmy-happy crapola. I didn't bother to check, but I'm also guessing that it's woefully historically and scientifically inaccurate. If the title is to be considered an accurate reflection of the movie itself, then it must stand for "Insipidness Quantified"

I understand why women like movies like this. For the most part, the cliche' is true - it's in their nature, just as watching mindless movies about shit getting blown up is in ours. Hey, I have enough of a soft, sensitive side to enjoy the occasional well-crafted chick flick. This, however, is a well-crafted steaming pile.

Drive-In Triple Feature Picks for I.Q.:

Ladies, why don't you follow it up with You've got Mail or When Harry met Sally. Just, please, for the love of God, don't expect us guys to sit through it with you. Guys, if you actually choose to sit through it anyway - why don't you have a good cry afterward and then go get your nails done, Nancy.

I like Tim Robbins, so I'll forgive him. A big Fuck You to Meg Ryan for all the torture she's subjected us to over the years. And an even bigger F.U. to Matthau for his desperately unfunny rendition of Einstein that only his role in "Grumpy Old Men" redeemed him from.

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originally posted: 09/01/02 08:03:14
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