Smart People (2008)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Noam Murro

Writer (WGA):

Mark Poirier (written by)

Release Date:

11 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn

Plot:

Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | College | College Student | Doctor | Date

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Dennis Quaid	...	Lawrence Wetherhold
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Janet Hartigan
Thomas Haden Church	...	Chuck Wetherhold
Ellen Page	...	Vanessa Wetherhold
Ashton Holmes	...	James Wetherhold
Christine Lahti	...	Nancy
Camille Mana	...	Missy Chin
David Denman	...	William
Don Wadsworth	...	Hadley
Robert Haley	...	Roth
Patrick Sebes	...	Curtis
Kevin James Doyle	...	Rodney
Paul Huber	...	Ben (as Paul J. Huber)
Iva Jean Saraceni	...	Volunteer
Richard John Walters	...	Parking Lot Attendant

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Ireland:15A | USA:R (for language, brief teen drug and alcohol use, and for some sexuality) | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-11 | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | Taiwan:PG-12 | New Zealand:M | Mexico:B | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Allegheny General Hospital - 320 East North Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Grosvenor Park Productions

Trivia:

Rachel Weisz was originally cast opposite Dennis Quaid in this film, but she decided to leave the project. She was then replaced with Sarah Jessica Parker.

Goofs:

Continuity: A classroom scene near the end of the movie shows the same items written on the board as a scene at the beginning of the movie - and all of the students are wearing the same clothes.

Quotes:

Vanessa Wetherhold: [stressed] I'm in an after-school special.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Ellen Page/Wilco (#33.6)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Pursuit of Happiness

unripe and reminiscent of the excellent 'The Accidental Tourist'

I've just seen this film and read a number of reviews about it. Many reviewers are referencing 'Little Miss Sunshine', 'The Family Stone', etc. But I left the theatre thinking of the wonderful, beautifully balanced and developed, fun film, 'The Accidental Tourist'--another film about an emotionally deadened, difficult man who is suffering from the loss of a loved one and is 'redeemed' through love. Talk about quirky families; the one in 'Tourist' puts most of the rest to shame. The difference perhaps in the quality of these films (Tourist very high, Smart People quite low, many others in the 'genre' somewhere inbetween) lies in that The Accidental Tourist was based on the highly crafted, moving novel of the same title by the gifted writer Anne Tyler. What stands out for me again and again as I work up my courage to attend recent releases is that the quality of screenplay writing in Hollywood and elsewhere is low, low, low. Rushed, pressured, unbaked--too many films being made too fast, with scripts that bore and confuse us with unconvincing plots and thin characters. This film, Smart People, could have been--with revision and review--a much better, more engaging, moving picture. The script simply wasn't ready for production; the story isn't there.