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All Movie Info
Starring:
Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church, Ellen Page, Ashton Holmes, David Denman, Camille Mana, Barret Hackney, Christine Lahti, Scott A. Martin, Jane Mowder, Patrick Jordan, William Kania, Iva Jean Saraceni, Rick Warner, Robert Haley, Kiley Caughey, Amanda Jane Cooper, Kevin James Doyle, Robert Haley, Christy Harst, Paul Huber, Adam Kroloff, José A. Rivas, Patrick Sebes, Benjamin Jeran McGinn, Richard John Walters, Don Wadsworth
Directed By:
Noam Murro
Written By:
Mark Poirier
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Smart People (2008)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
April 16th, 2008
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'Smart People' is likely to be remembered as Ellen Page's first film after the phenomenal success of Juno, and she steals this movie as assuredly as she did that one, even though the central performance is from Dennis Quaid, and it is one of his best in a long time, where he channels Michael Douglas from Wonder Boys in his portrayal of a scruffy college professor named Lawrence Wetherhold, caught in the throes of a mid-life crisis. He has a seizure and loses his driver's license, so he is thus rendered immobile, but agrees to accept the assistance of his adopted brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church), who is to serve as his chauffeur and maybe help with other things, too. This arrangement does not work out that well, since Chuck has a habit of being irresponsible and unreliable. Lawrence's daughter Vanessa (Page) is an emotionally retarded overachiever (and vocal Republican), who has inherited several aspects of her dad's personality. Lawrence's tendency to damage, if not completely sabotage, his personal relationships is tested when he falls for Janet (Sarah Jessica Parker), a physician who also happens to be one of his former students. The focus on intellectual, neurotic individuals may evoke images of a Woody Allen comedy, or something like The Royal Tenenbaums, but 'Smart People' has its own identity, and is content to be a mildly amusing comedy-drama that is blessed with clever and acerbic dialogue. The writing is undoubtedly the biggest strength of the film, along with the terrific acting, from Quaid, Page, Church, and Parker. Quaid is playing perhaps a crabbier, quirkier version of his character from In Good Company. Church, on the rebound from obscurity after his Oscar-nominated work in Sideways, has a very laid-back persona and a distinctive growl of a voice that could mark him for future typecasting in many similar roles.
He and Page are a delight to watch together, they have very little in common, but nonetheless seem to click and display some solid natural chemistry. Both of them drop out of the story, though, to make room for Lawrence's interactions with Janet. She starts out treating him, helping him recover, and then maybe helping him change as a person, which is no easy task, she learns rather quickly that he is pompous, stubborn, and generally unpleasant, but in spite of these qualities, he potentially has the capacity for change, whether or not he is willing to. Ashton Holmes is saddled with the superfluous role of James, Lawrence's son, who is there only to remind us (if Vanessa doesn't), that Lawrence has not been a very good parent.
The pacing is off, much of the material, particularly the romance stuff; rings hollow, I think it would have been better if comedy had gotten more of an emphasis, and the whole Wetherhold brood just spent 90 or so minutes cursing at each other. Page and Church get all the best zingers; Quaid and Parker are deprived of them, but then Page can deliver them to much greater effect, with fearsome, unbridled fury if such is required. Overall, the film echoes, but never exactly rips off superior features like Wonder Boys, The Squid and the Whale, and The Royal Tenenbaums, so if you liked those, you will be probably like this, though it has less of what made those movies so funny and entertaining.
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