Genius (1999 film)
Genius | |
---|---|
Written by | John Rieck Jim Lincoln Dan Studney |
Directed by | Rod Daniel |
Starring | Trevor Morgan Emmy Rossum |
Theme music composer | Marco Marinangeli |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Aaron Meyerson |
Running time | 90 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | Disney Channel |
Release | August 21, 1999 |
Genius is a 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie directed by Rod Daniel.
Plot summary
Charlie Boyle, a physics genius and hockey lover, is tired of being friendless. It's bad enough that he's in college before he's 14, and he's helping a scientist who's in the midst of trying to defy gravity. And while doing so, he meets Claire Addison: a beautiful girl, daughter of one of the coaches of the Northern Lights, and also his tutor. So, in order to make his life exactly how he wants it, Charlie reinvents himself by taking on the image of a slacker and bad boy, Chaz Anthony, and enrolls in the local Junior high. But juggling two lives is tough, even for a genius. Eventually his double life is exposed when, at the hockey playoffs, he sits on the bench with the Dean and Claire notices him and points him out to her father who identifies him as Charlie Boyle. Claire doesn't believe him at first, but realizes its true due to previous suspicious behavior. Claire confronts Charlie who admits the truth, but also realizes that he left the university's particle accelerator running and it overheats, cracking the ice and interrupting the game which the Northern Lights were about to win, having used a play Charlie gave them. Claire's father's job is put in jeopardy as a result and Claire, disgusted by Charlie's actions, tells him she never wants to see him again and won't take his phone calls. Charlie leaves junior high and although he makes an announcement over the PA system apologizing, Claire and his best friends Odie and Dieon refuse to forgive him.
Having isolated a graviton and figured out how to use it to control the movements of another object, Charlie decides to use it to help the team win and appeals to his friends for help. They refuse until, after being called Chaz by Claire, he tells them he's Charlie Boyle and he can't do it without them. Odie and Dieon decide to help and finally Claire and his other junior high classmates follow. After creating a distraction with the help of his classmates to get microchips onto the three main enemy players, Charlie and Claire proceed to take control of them to prevent them from cheating. The scientist Charlie's working with, Doctor Krickstien, initially refuses to have anything to do with Charlie's actions, but later steps in to help and accidentally causes an electrical surge that reverses the polarity of the graviton and causes Charlie, Claire and Krickstein as well as the players they are connected to defy gravity. The Northern Lights win and Claire's father's job is saved and Charlie and Claire kiss. Later, Charlie and his friends set up a friendly ice hockey game with Krickstein joining, but before they can start, the Northern Lights arrive having learned what Charlie did for them from Claire's dad who Claire told and ask for a game against Charlie and his friends. Charlie agrees, but on the condition that Krickstein is on their team which they reluctantly agree to.
Cast
- Trevor Morgan - Charlie Boyle/Chaz Anthony
- Emmy Rossum - Claire Addison
- Charles Fleischer - Dr. Krickstein
- Yannick Bisson - Mike MacGregor
- Peter Keleghan - Dean Wallace
- Philip Granger - Coach Addison
- Jonathon Whittaker - Dad Boyle (as Jonathan Whittaker)
- Patrick Thomas - Odie
- Matthew Koller - Deion
- Chuck Campbell - Hugo Peplo
- Eli Ham - Omar Sullivan
- Darryl Pring - Bear Berczinski