Baby Geniuses

I saw this movie on the big screen and had no opinion one way or another about it. After 3 years, while searching for the work of "Seth Adkins" I came across this movie, and the many negative comments about it! So, I rented and watched the video to see what I missed that so many found to give it such a bad rating and review. My findings are as follows:

This movie is exactly what it is presented as!

Please note the following:

It was presented as a comedy. (Is is not?). It was presented as a silly, slap-stick comedy (Is it not?). It was NEVER presented to be an academy award winner!

I personally do not care for slap-stick humor, but I have to admit that this movie was somewhat enjoyable to me.

I respect Leonard Maltin's opinion about movies, as most of the time he is right on the money. However, this is one of the few times I have to disagree with him! Why did Leonard Maltin give the movie "Fire Down Below" 2 stars and this one BOMB status?? "Fire Down Below" is supposed to be a "serious" action/drama and Leonard Maltin himself admits that it is "Laughably bad"! However, here is a move that is supposed to be funny, silly, stupid (whatever way you put it), and he dumps all over it for being exactly what it was promoted to be!!!!!!!!!

No, I do not believe this is one of my favorite movies, but I believe that it has been given a very poor review, based upon many people who desire a more mature script. It is as entertaining as just about any Slap-stick comedy I have ever seen!

(Please note: There is some language and (very little (almost un-noticeable)) sexual suggestion that you might find objectionable or object to allowing young children to witness)!

I will give some credit to this otherwise awful film, that it is better than its abysmal sequel Superbabies:Baby Geniuses 2. On paper, it doesn't look so bad, it has a great cast including beautiful Kathaleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd who is a lot of fun in pretty much everything he's in and the late Dom DeLuise. If only, if only it had a decent enough script and a good enough plot. However, the film is severely lacking in both areas, and makes a waste of those truly talented actors.

The script is just awful, and doesn't give anyone enough to work with, and there is no originality or sophistication. The story is one that has been done before and better about a nasty children's magnate who is carrying out tests on a host of brainy little children on the premise that they can speak in a secret language. Bob Clark's direction is very unfocused throughout, and doesn't improve whatsoever. The camera-work is rushed, and the slapstick is uninspiredly staged. In fact, if there was a redeeming quality, the soundtrack was okay to say the least.

The performances are disappointingly poor, and they are not helped by the lacklustre direction and the witless script. To be honest I found triplets Leo, Myles and Gerry Fitzgerald very irritating as the twins who try to outmatch Dr Kinder. As for Turner, this has to be a career low for her. This is a shame, because she is so beautiful and talented, but her strengths aren't even put to use here and she does overact quite wildly. Christopher Lloyd usually excels in roles similar to the one he has here, but he looks embarrassed here and looks as though he wants to get it all out of the way. And Dom DeLuise? For such a talented and versatile actor like DeLuise, you would expect a lot from him. But his part is so badly underwritten that he comes across as wasted.

All in all, sorry but I didn't like this movie. Even with such a wonderful bunch of actors, their talents are all gone to waste with poor writing, direction and plot. 1/10 Bethany Cox

I completely disagree with all of the comments about this movie!

A friend and I were at the video store and bought this on a whim from the budget bin... I thought it looked bad enough that it would be a good laugh to watch it and make fun of it. No one was more surprised than me to discover that it was actually decent! It's a dark comedy not at all aimed at kids... I think it will become a great cult film like "Return to Oz." Admittedly it could have done without the numerous scenes depicting someone getting kicked, punched, or whacked in the family jewels, but other than that I had no major qualms with it at all. At times I laughed out loud, and I at least don't remember being bored at any point. What astonishes me most about the reviews of this films is that everyone seems to be taking it seriously! The same people who say that the plot is ridiculous probably loved movies like "Star Wars" and "Pulp Fiction." This movie didn't claim to be based in fact, and in fairness it can't be evaluated as such. Like any fiction film, it requires some suspension of disbelief. The dialogue isn't any worse than any of the action movies it so clearly mocks, and as for the acting, well, Peter MacNichol plays himself as usual (not a bad thing!), Christopher Lloyd turns in a appropriately cartoonish performance, and I was actually pretty impressed with the toddlers' physical acting, considering their age.

So, in summary, this isn't a 10 out of 10 but it isn't bad. You won't enjoy it if you take it too seriously, and you certainly won't enjoy it if you only look for its faults (which too many people seem to be doing). I give it thumbs up!

I loved "Baby Geniuses." This film is much better than "Baby's Day Out," especially for the grown-ups. Many of the jokes are aimed at the parents, although kids can understand them, too. I would recommend "Baby Geniuses" to anyone who wants to have a ball watching adorable toddlers and laughing out loud.

I think everyone here is just being a little too critical. It wasn't claiming to be greatest movie made since Gone With the Wind. It was just a cute movie, plain and simple. My daughter's and I laughed throughout the whole movie. It's not that serious-Lighten up people!