This movie will grow on you if you like the sweet romantic comedy.

The cast is great. Ed Walters (Tim Robbins) the Garage Mechanic falls in love at first sight of Catherine(Meg Ryan) when she appears at his Gas Station with a failing car with her pretentious fiance James Mooreland (Stephen Fry). Ed decides to go ask her out and appears at her home and knocks on the door. The door opens and there is Albert Einstein(Walter Matthau) "You're Albert Einstien!" "Zank you" and thus begins the plot to break up the engagment and bring Ed and Catherine together.

The subcharacters are great! Especially Einstein's pals played by Lou Jacobi, Gene Saks, and Joseph Maher. "Three of the greatest minds and together they can't change a light bulb."

All in all a great warm funny film! Matthau again has to mentioned as his performance was brilliant. He should have been nominated IMHO. You can't go wrong with this one.

IQ is a cute romantic comedy... featuring Einstein... It's a little offbeat sometimes (i.e. Catherine's (Meg Ryan) fiancee and his work) and it drags on slowly during some parts, but overall it's a cute movie. Meg Ryan has her classic cute, short blonde hair cut and, as she is supposed to be related to Einstein, their hairdos match. Tim Robbins as Ed Walters is very sweet in this movie, struck by Catherine's beauty the moment he sees her, we get a bit of that "love at first sight" hollywood fun, which is the main point of this movie... as Einstein gets into... I said it was quirky!

Truly, watching Walter Matthau as Albert Einstein is one of the reasons I watch this movie if I see it on on TV. He really was a comedic genius.

I don't own this movie, they play it enough on TV, and it doesn't have that constant reply value that I look for when I spend my money a DVD. But it is a cute movie to watch a few times, I'll give it that.

Walter Matthau, as Einstein, easily steals the show as he tries to persuade his niece to ditch the brilliant, boring, scientific nerd she's engaged to and follow her heart, which is tugging in the direction of the local auto mechanic, who has taken one look at her over the hood of her disabled car and fallen ridiculously and madly in love.
Even Meg Ryan has trouble with the costuming of the 1950's era: cinched waists, twin sets, white gloves (!!), etc., and I got the feeling she was just going thru the motions of playing Meg Ryan, as only she can.
Cute, but very lightweight.

Now this is how to do the genre!

This is brilliantly funny, poignant and tender, but never insipid (the director is Australia...so insipidness is definitely out) movie. Matthau is truly fantastic as Einstein, as are his three sidekicks (especially Godel! and the tree that likes to eat their stuff!) as they try to manuever the two leads together and remove the Lesser Professor, a.k.a the rat man, Chimp Pimp, etc from the picture: the stuffy english fiance of Meg Ryan's Character, played perfectly by Stephen Frey. Of course the Lesser Professor is trying to hang on to Meg Ryan's character and expose Tim Robbin's character as a fraud because of his new found friendhsip with Einstein and the secret paper they're working on so Tim Robbin's character can impress Meg Ryan's charater with 'his genius' because that is what she looks for in a man- a genetic hope of making genius children so she, lacking in her own confidence, can achieve through her children. MEg Ryan's character is Eistein's neice.

I can't understand how Matthau didn't get a best supporting actor nomination for this movie! He is so good, as is all the cast: they fit perfectly, especially the 'four boys'.

The story is fairly linear but well paced. It does deal with a lesser theme of self belief, being yourself, and sexual equality and that brilliant men can be have brilliant women as their equal, or betters. The main theme is not letting the brain rule the heart too much, and to be happy. And that some things-love- defy science!

I can't think of any movie like this one. Its unique, clever, witty and subtle at times (especially the humor: Einstein on a motorbike going wah-hoo...very cool!). So if you like your movies sophisticated, wholesome, honest, stylish and not contrived then you defintely want to see this one! The cinematography and 'fifty-ness' is fantastic!

Definitely 5 stars! More even...!

DVD is very plain: just the movie. No added features or even bio's for that matter. But with a movie this good, who needs them? The picture and sound quality are top notch.

Apart from a quote I love ("I'd rather be an optimist and a fool, than a pessimist and always right") the movie is also a relatively intelligent feel-good romantic comedy. Matthau is hilarious as Einstein, almost looks like him too! Robbins is at his suave best, and Meg a prim intellectually inclined neice of Einstein.

If you have any respect for the history of physics and the reputations of the people who formed non-Euclidean theory, leave it at the door. (One cannot but wonder if fictional physicists, instead of real characters could not have accomplished the same thing in terms of compelling characterizations?)

In any case, the movie is a neat little love story, and worth a cosy evening's rental.