The Genius Club

A motion-picture show about the world's superlative minds should include -- at the very least -- a modicum of intellectual discourse. What a disappointment then to have a bunch of dopes spitting out earnest soap opera dialogue. That's The Genius Club, a low-budget hopeful thriller that's anything merely smart.


In fact, writer-director Timothy Chey's failed feature sets up one implausible scenario after some other, on top side of uniformly unremarkable performing. What's leftfield to the story then? An ambitious concept that's flat from the first clich�d crease of narration.


It seems a madman (Tom Sizemore, playing to type) is holding Washington, D.C. hostage with a nuclear weapon he's ready to detonate. But if a small mathematical group of the country's highest IQs lav correctly answer high-minded questions posed by Crazy Guy, he'll call it off and spare half a million lives. So Homeland Security -- which appears to be three serious-looking college guys -- rounds up the smarties and hustles them to an empty storage warehouse in D.C. to play the game.


We've been duped. Instead of actually