"
Looking at the script, he does say ""I mean, do you think I'm especially not a genius?"" followed by ""You didn't even have to think about it, did you?"" Margot then replies that she doesn't use that word lightly. I've always interpreted him calling her to discuss the review as implying that it was her review, and given her obvious sensitivity towards the word genius due to Etheline's use of it during Margot's upbringing it makes sense that she would specifically call someone not a genius were she to write a review. Particularly a review of someone who was around her and her family growing up, and therefore someone she would have ample time to compare to alleged geniuses in order to determine that he was, in fact, not a genius. 67.133.229.226  "