Sunday, July 1, 2018

CRINGE-FREE ROMCOM? REALLY? BQ REMEMBERS THE SILLY, SWEET 'N SMART "I.Q."...........

I.Q. (1994)     For one hot summer night, we decided to return to the days when the purpose of romantic comedies wasn't to make you squirm and cringe with a  miserable parade of embarrassing incidents........

                  Back when all the romcoms wanted you to do was go "awwwwww" while you rooted for two nice people to fall nicely in love........

                   So maybe we are turning soft and mushy...(we heard it's a telltale symptom of advancing age)..........

                    Can't help it........in today's current climate of constant fear, loathing, hatred, racism, bigotry and division,  a movie like this is like a refreshing dip in the pool on a hellishly hot day.....

                  We don't care how far-fetched the premise.......Albert Einstein (a slyly funny Walter Matthau) functioning as matchmaker for his brilliant mathematician niece  (Meg Ryan, at the very height of her cute-as-a-button powers)......pairing her up with a soft-spoken garage mechanic (Tim Robbins) who's gone instantly smitten over her.

                  The whole movie unfolds gently like a huge chewy chocolate chip cookie, fresh out of the corner bakery oven......designed to keep you smiling from the first minute to the last.

                   There's no part of this movie we don't love.......including Matthau's entourage/posse of nattering geniuses (Lou Jacobi, Joseph Maher, Gene Saks).......and Stephen Fry as the quintessential Obnoxious-And-Destined-To-Be-Dumped fiance of Meg Ryan.......

                 And for frosting on the cookie......composer Jerry Goldsmith having a jolly time with his score that mixes the Alphabet Song with symphonically enhanced 50's Be-Bop......pure ear-jo (y.

                  Doesn't take a genius to come up with a rating this one.......4 stars (****)........and not a single cringe or squirm in sight...…..

               

               
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2 comments:

  1. Paul SSeptember 6, 2018 at 1:00 AM

    I agree, I miss movies like I.Q. but then I do have a weak spot for 1990’s Meg Ryan movies and her pair ups were always interesting, whether Matthew Broderick, Billy Crystal, Kevin Kline or Tim Robbins. I.Q. may be an under-appreciated romantic comedy, but it works for me. It makes me smile and is always an easy watch.

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  2. ScottieSeptember 6, 2018 at 9:23 AM

    Paul, it's fascinating to watch the evolving
    guy-girl dynamic in these films as the decades move on.....and no question, Meg ruled the rom-com world like a benevolent princess throughout the 90's...we were as smitten as Tim Robbins's mechanic-romeo..(we'll be delving into more of these in the months ahead.....including our oddball romantic faves from the 60's and 70's.....as Walter's Einstein put it in "I.Q"....wahooo...)

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