''If I Had Known I Was a Genius'' is a film directed by Dominique Wirtschafter and written by

Markus Redmond Markus William Redmond (born February 5, 1971) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. Career In 2016, Redmond directed and starred in the independent film, ''The 6th Degree'', a psychological thriller that he also wrote and co-produ ...

(who also stars in the film). The film premiered January 23, 2007 at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

Plot

Michael (Markus Redmond) is an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

boy with a

genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabilit ...

I.Q. An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. The abbreviation "IQ" was coined by the psychologist William Stern for the German term ''Intelligenzqu ...

His family refuses to encourage him and tries to bring him down, and his mother (Whoopi Goldberg) nicknames him "Ugly". Michael enrolls in a high school drama class and finds encouragement from an eccentric teacher.

Cast

as Michael Reed *

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

as Mrs. Reed *

Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' T ...

as Mr. Reed *

Debra Wilson Debra Wilson, also known as Debra Wilson Skelton or Debra Skelton, is an American actress and comedian. She is known for being the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series '' Mad TV'', having appeared on the show's fir ...

as Teresa Reed *

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of vario ...

as Gloria Fremont *

Tara Reid Tara Donna Reid (born November 8, 1975) is an American actress. She played Vicky in the films ''American Pie (film), American Pie'' (1999), ''American Pie 2'' (2001), and ''American Reunion'' (2012), and Bunny Lebowski in ''The Big Lebowski'' ( ...

as Stephanie *

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

as Nana *

Andy Richter Paul Andrew Richter (born October 28, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: '' Late Night'' and ''The Tonight Show'' on NBC ...

as Game Show Host *

French Stewart Milton French-Stewart IV (born February 20, 1964), known professionally as French Stewart, is an American actor, best known for playing Harry Solomon on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun''. He also played Marv Murchins in '' Home Alone 4'', ...

as Public School Principal *

David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements''. His other feature credits include '' Big Fish'', '' Fair Game'', ''The Nines'', '' Shutter'', '' Smart People'', '' Fanboys'', '' Let Go'', ...

as Baker *

Nadia Bjorlin Nadia Alexandra Bjorlin (born August 2, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and model. Early life Bjorlin was born on August 2, 1980 in Newport, Rhode Island. She is the second eldest child of Swedish composer and conductor Ulf Björlin and F ...

as Faith *

Julie Hagerty Julie Beth Hagerty (born June 15, 1955) is an American actress. She starred as Elaine in the films ''Airplane!'' (1980) and '' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982). Her other film roles include '' A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy'' (1982), '' Lost in ...

as Teacher

References

External links

* * *{{Amg movie, 382548, If I Had Known I Was a Genius 2007 films American comedy-drama films Films produced by Andrea Sperling 2007 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films