HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Superintelligence'' is a 2020 American romantic
action comedy film The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...
directed by
Ben Falcone Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he frequently collaborates. Falcone made his directorial debut in 2014 with ''Tammy (film), Tammy'', ...
and written by Steve Mallory. The film stars
Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Melissa McCarthy, numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Award ...
in her fourth collaboration with her husband, Falcone. ''Superintelligence'' was released by
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...
digitally in the United States via
HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...
, and theatrically in some international markets, on November 26, 2020. The film has grossed $4 million and received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, who called the film "forgettable", although McCarthy's performance was praised. The film was removed from HBO Max in July 2022.


Plot

Eight years ago, Carol Peters left her executive job at Yahoo in order to lead a more altruistic life. Unsatisfied with the current
job market Labour economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the markets for wage labour. Labour is a commodity that is supplied by labourers, usually in exchange for a wage paid by demanding firms. Because these labourers exist as pa ...
in Seattle, she now lives day to day, doing non-profit work to advocate for the environment, caring for animals and making the world a better place. A friend and former colleague, Dennis, talks her into interviewing for a modern dating website. An interviewer labels her "the most average person on Earth," which is heard by an
autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
or AI. The next morning in her apartment, a voice starts communicating with her through her TV, cell phone and rice maker. The AI speaks the voice of
James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & S ...
, as he is her favorite celebrity, to soothe her when she freaks out. The supercomputer has become sentient and now is trying to decide whether to save, enslave or obliterate humanity and start over. Carol, as his test subject, is the planet's only hope. The AI wants to study Carol and her interactions as a way to learn about humanity. Telling Carol it will be watching her over three days to decide, it erases her student debt and deposits 10 million dollars into her bank account. It suggests she confide in Dennis, a researcher at
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
. She goes to his workplace, and the AI talks to him and convinces him it is real, not a figment of Carol's imagination. The AI also convinces Carol to try to get back with her ex-boyfriend, George, thinking observing their reconciliation would be the ideal way to prove humans are capable of love and redemption. He presents her with a self-driving Tesla and takes her to a high-end clothing designer to revamp her look. When she arrives outside George's place, NSA agents abduct Carol, tipped off by Dennis. In their interrogation, she tells them the AI's goal. It announces it is freeing her, threatening their annihilation if they try to stop it. The AI organizes a
meet cute A meet cute is a scene in media, in which two people meet for the first time, typically under unusual, humorous, or cute circumstances, and go on to form a future romantic couple. This type of scene is a staple of romantic comedies, though it c ...
for Carol and George. Initially ineffective, she tries again, inviting him to dinner. In the meantime, Dennis meets with the President of the United States, convincing her and the world to shut down all electronics, hoping to neutralize the AI. Although George will be leaving the country in a few days, he and Carol bond in that time. The AI steers them to the Mexican restaurant where they had their first date. They reconcile, spending the night together. They spend the whole next day together doing things George loves, including meeting his personal hero at a
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...
game. Carol steps away from him, getting accosted by the NSA again. She is told about their grand plan of trapping the AI in Seattle, and they swear her to secrecy. Although she has had an amazing day with George, Carol opts not to stay the night, believing if she did so, it would be too hard to let him go. As Carol leaves, the AI hounds her to explain herself, but she blocks him out. The next morning, she is told the Earth is now on a five-hour countdown to destruction. However, she selflessly chooses to turn down the NSA's offer to protect her with them in an underground bunker and instead helps George finish packing for his Ireland fellowship. Carol's unexpected actions convince the AI that it has not really understood, and it cancels Armageddon.


Cast


Production

In July 2017, it was reported that
New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...
had purchased the screenplay by Steve Mallory, with
Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Melissa McCarthy, numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Award ...
and
Ben Falcone Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he frequently collaborates. Falcone made his directorial debut in 2014 with ''Tammy (film), Tammy'', ...
on board the project to produce through their On the Day Productions banner. In April 2018, it was announced that McCarthy would star in the film and Falcone would direct it, marking their fourth actor-director collaboration. In June 2018,
James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & S ...
joined the cast, to voice the titular "Super Intelligence". In July 2018, Bobby Cannavale,
Brian Tyree Henry Brian Tyree Henry (born March 31, 1982) is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as rapper Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles in the FX (TV channel), FX comedy-drama series ''Atlanta (TV series), Atlanta'' (2016–2022), for which he recei ...
, and Sam Richardson joined the cast. The film started principal production right after McCarthy wrapped filming '' The Kitchen'', on July 16, 2018, and wrapped on August 31, 2018. Some scenes were filmed at
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
. The restaurant scene was filmed at Landmark Diner in downtown Atlanta and the outdoor scenes were filmed on Broad Street, as evidenced by Dua Vietnamese Restaurant and Reuben's Deli.


Release

The film was digitally released on
HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...
on November 26, 2020. The film was initially scheduled for theatrical release on December 25, 2019, but was later moved up five days, prior to WarnerMedia deciding in October 2019 to shift the film to a streaming release; Falcone said at that time that he agreed it would be better suited to a streaming platform. The film grossed $745,000 from five countries in its opening weekend.


Critical reception

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads: "You won't need ''Superintelligence'' to steer clear of the latest forgettable comedy to fail to take full advantage of Melissa McCarthy's talents." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, it has a weighted average score of 41 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". David Ehrlich of IndieWire called it one of the year's worst films, and "a lifeless, laugh-free slab of nothing like Superintelligence, which starts with “what if Skynet, but with jokes?” and then just gasps for air for the next 105 minutes." Caryn James of
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
wrote: "The cast, though, is full of extraordinary actors, who do what they can to redeem a lame script and style." McCarthy was nominated for the 2021 Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress.


References


External links

* * * {{Max (streaming service) 2020 films 2020 action comedy films 2020 romantic comedy films American action comedy films American romantic action films American romantic comedy films 2020s English-language films Films about artificial intelligence Films directed by Ben Falcone Films produced by Ben Falcone Films produced by Melissa McCarthy Films shot in Atlanta Films set in Seattle HBO Max films New Line Cinema films Warner Bros. films 2020s American films English-language action comedy films English-language romantic comedy films