Genio incompreso... ma non troppo

Usually, Disney characters have never had much appeal to me. If I ever saw a Disney movie come on screen in my house, I admit I automatically wouldn't hesitate to change the channel. When I was younger, and much more naive, I used to believe all that soppy, lovey-dovey crap that Disney used to feed me, but now I'm much older and more mature, I think Disney's new 'modern' shows and movies suck. However, I was watching television with my young sister, and she flicked the channel over to Disney when I went to get her a drink. When I came back...soft music started coming on and the title for this movie 'Genius' came on, and then the credits showed that this movie was made by Disney. As you can imagine, my first reaction was 'Change the Channel, quickly!' but my sister, who is only eight, insisted that we watch this movie. Me, being older, decided that one little Disney movie couldn't hurt, and I was supposed to be looking after her, so it would be best not to fight. And hey, I thought, I could always walk out of the room or fall asleep if it got too bad. Anywho, I started watching the movie, and, as it went along, I became more interested in the whole plot of things. The storyline was great, and the characters suited their on-screen characters so well. Trevor Morgan as Charlie was perfect! He plays his character so well...and overall the movie was fantastic. My sister and I were laughing so hard, and I actually enjoyed it so much, I went straight on the Internet and bought it off the Internet. It's by far the best movies Disney ever made, and I take my hat off to them. Two thumbs up guys!

I must say, I was truly amazed by this movie. I've been puzzled as to why on Earth I bother watching all the Disney Channel movies. After such disappointments like "Can of Worms," "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century," and the awful "Smart House," to name a few, I didn't think Disney could make a decent TV movie. But here it is! This movie really is genius. Instead of going from cheap comedy and typical overblown plots, Disney made something that is nice and, most importantly, can make this stone-faced critic laugh a lot.

Thirteen-year-old Charlie Boyle is a hockey-loving whiz kid so smart that he has been offered the chance to go to college early, to study, experiment, and even teach. naturally, he has a hard time fitting in with the college students, especially his hockey player roommate, who is in the physics class Charlie teaches. One day, he meets a girl and falls instantly in love, but, always being seen as a nerd and not having much success in the past with such matters, he pretends to be a trouble-maker and enrolls at the junior high the girl attends. Thus begins the fun as Charlie must constantly switch from one identity to the next so his lie is not discovered.

So how did Disney do it? How did they make something funny? Well, the cast is great, especially young Trevor Morgan as Charlie, who has some very clever and quick lines. A script that doesn't fall into embarrassing, unfunny, cliched situations for another, which is so typical for this type of Disney movie. Then again, maybe it was a science experiment they tried with a completely accidental result. If so, then hooray for science! Zanatos's score: 9/10!

Disney continues to garner praise for family films, this time for "Genius", a well-conceived, well-paced, delightful comedy with a talented cast. Essentially, this is a story about growing up and feeling the need to belong-- with a twist of slapstick, mistaken identity, college hockey and a particle beam accelerator. Quite an accomplishment.

In the tradition of Merlin Jones--probably Disney's most famous teen genius (see The Monkey's Uncle and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones)--we meet Charlie Boyle, our hero, obsessed with hockey, physics, and fitting in. Trevor Morgan is wonderful in this dual role as Charlie/Chaz...he has a lot of presence for a kid his age, and a lot of promise. Emmy Rossum is very charming and natural as Claire Addison--sweet and tomboyish, she lends a little romance to story. The always incomparable Charles Fleischer is featured as Dr. Krickstein, giving a great performance as Charlie's hero, mentor and friend, and showing of his rollerblading skills in the process...

I'd love to see Disney team up Charlie, Claire and Dr. Krickstein again...there's endless adventure potential here! Take advantage of it!

Very charming, actor did the best with what they could with their script

This movie is about a 13 year old kid who is extremely smart. He is going off to college five years early, and has gotten letters from all of the main colleges. He goes off to one he favors and does not have so good of a time. I guess the movie is overall entertaining in all of the main scenes and sequencing in putting it together. The movie has a lot of people in it, which I am always going on and on about in other reviews. Because a movie with a lot of people in it is one that can be enjoyed by all different types of people because they can relate to the character in the movie because there are profuseness amounts of people that are of anomalous personalities and styles.

I like the basic structure of the movie, how it flows, the ending and how the characters act. I know that sometimes actors and actresses may have to do actions on television that they may not really want to do, and that could be one of the things that happened in this movie. There were a few spots that seemed like they would never happen, not that it was impossible, just that no one would ever do that particular scene. The college students in the film are really sarcastic and do well doing so. The thing that I like about this movie is how there is a lot of sneaking around going on. How the main character does something drastic to improve how he would be thought of by his students and his peers. This movie deals a lot with how people are thought of by others. About fitting in with the people that you want to be with, and not with the people that you have to be with.

I liked how all of the actors and actresses acted, with an understanding of their character and knowing how to act like someone of who they are not. I cannot think of anyone who did not do their optimum level of acting that was expected by the viewers, meaning that all of the people in the film did okay, or above okay. This is not a kind of typical film with everything so perfect it is just dull to watch, this movie possesses a sense of knowing what the plot is centered on. The writer of this movie obviously knew about what he was writing about, and not just guessing how the lives of teens and young adults act. There is some doubt in this movie. Not the predictable type, but the type where you actually don't know what will happen, unless something like a miracle appears. Furthermore, being that this is a Disney Channel Original movie, and not having spent a whole lot of time on it, I give this movie an 8.5 out of 10. The reason is because the movie could have been better in some ways, but it also had its good points.