Baby Geniuses
| Baby Geniuses | |
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 Theatrical release poster for the film's promotionalism. |
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| Directed by | Bob Clark |
| Produced by | Steven Paul |
| Written by | Steven Paul Francisca Matos Robert Grasmere |
| Starring | Kathleen Turner Peter MacNicol Kim Cattrall Christopher Lloyd Dom DeLuise Ruby Dee Kyle Howard |
| Music by | Paul Zaza |
| Cinematography | Stephen M. Katz |
| Editing by | Stan Cole |
| Studio | Triumph Films |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 12, 1999 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $36,450,736[1] |
Baby Geniuses is a 1999 family-oriented comedy film directed by Bob Clark, rated PG for "some rude behavior and dialogue". It stars Kathleen Turner and Christopher Lloyd.
Computer-generated imagery effects were used to digitally superimpose moving lips over babies' mouths, an effect similarly used in Clutch Cargo, but many critics pointed the effect out as being unnerving.
In 2004 it was followed by a sequel, Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2, which had an even worse critical reaction than the original and also bombed at the box-office. Both films currently reside in Internet Movie Database's Bottom 100 list.[2]
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[edit] Plot
Two scientists, Dr. Elena Kinder (Kathleen Turner) and Dr. Heep (Christopher Lloyd), use genius baby studies to fund their BabyCo theme park. At age two, the children are due to 'cross over', learn to talk, and forget their universal knowledge.
One mischievous toddler, Sylvester, labeled Sly, makes repeated attempts to escape the "Kinder" lab and one night, he actually succeeds. What Sly does not expect is to run into his twin, Whit, in a mall playground. Although Sly and Whit share a telepathic bond, they have no idea of each other's existence. While the guards from the lab capture Whit, mistake him for Sly, and take him back to the Kinder lab, Sly is taken home by Whit's adopted mother, Robin (Kim Cattrall), who is Dr. Kinder's niece. After Dr. Kinder discovers the mix-up, she decides to do a cross evaluation on the twins. However, when she comes to Dan Bobbin's Place, she realizes that Dan Bobbin can understand babies. After the attempts to retrieve Sly fail, Dr. Kinder decides to move the labs to Lichtenstein.
The babies at Bobbin's place hypnotize Lenny (Dom DeLuise), the bus driver to drive to Kinder Labs. Once at the labs, Sly goes to the control room to set the robots from the theme park on the lab scientists. When the Bobbins return home, their natural daughter Carrie tells her father that the children are in the Kinder Labs. At the end of the fight Dr. Kinder captures Whit and takes him to the helicopter pad on the roof. Robin and Dan chase them to the roof, where Dr. Kinder reveals that she and Robin are not related, and that Robin was adopted at age two. Just then police helicopters come, ending the fight. Sly and Whit come together on the roof to cross over.
Dan and Robin adopt Sly. Dan is still curious of the secrets of life, but as the twins have crossed over they no longer know those secrets. Carrie, their sister, doesn't reveal anything (just gives her dad a sly smile) because adults aren't meant to know their secrets.
[edit] Cast
- Kathleen Turner as Dr. Elena Kinder
- Peter MacNicol as Dan
- Kim Cattrall as Robin
- Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Heep
- Dom DeLuise as Lenny
- Ruby Dee as Margo
- Kyle Howard as Dickie
- Gabrielle and Megan Robbins as Carrie
- Leo, Gerry and Myles Fitzgerald as Sly/Whit
[edit] Reception
Baby Geniuses received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reporting that only 2% of critics gave the film a positive review.[3] It was listed by leading American film critic Roger Ebert as one of his most hated movies and ranked as his worst film of 1999,[4] even though he gave the film a ranking of 1.5/4, which isn't the lowest rating he has available.
[edit] Sequel
Due to the film's commercial success, a sequel was made, titled Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2, directed again by Bob Clark. The sequel, like the original, is widely considered among the worst films of all time, and received worse reviews than the original.
[edit] References
- ^ Baby Geniuses at Box Office Mojo
- ^ The Bottom 100 at IMDb
- ^ "Baby Geniuses Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/baby_geniuses/. Retrieved 2010-09-05.
- ^ "Ebert's Most Hated". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050811/COMMENTARY/50808002.
[edit] External links
- Baby Geniuses at the Internet Movie Database
- Baby Geniuses at Box Office Mojo
- Baby Geniuses at Rotten Tomatoes
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