Catherine Boyd (Meg Ryan) is the niece of Albert Einstein (Walter Matthau) and engaged to pompous professor James Moreland (Stephen Fry). Catherine and James start having car trouble. Ed Walters (Tim Robbins), Bob Rosetti (Tony Shalhoub), and Frank (Frank Whaley) are working in the garage. Ed falls head over heels for Catherine. Einstein intervenes with his scientist friends Nathan Liebknecht (Joseph Maher), Kurt Gödel (Lou Jacobi), and Boris Podolsky (Gene Saks) to perfect a Grand Design. Louis Bamberger (Charles Durning) is the head of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.
The rom-com formula is often derided but there is a reason why everyone keeps repeating it. Catherine and Ed need much more heat in their first meeting. The romance is too one-sided and sputters along. They really don't have enough time together. Even queen Meg Ryan cannot drive this rom-com at full speed. Ed spends more time with Einstein than her. The standout is Walter Matthau and his gang of elderly gentlemen. They are fun and able to deliver a few funny moments. It's more of a hybrid between a rom-com and a buddy movie. This sorta works and has some fun doing it.
