Smart People

2008 "Sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn"
6.1| 1h35m| R| en| More Info
Released: 11 April 2008 Released
Producted By: Miramax
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.smartpeoplemovie.com/
Info

Professor Lawrence Wetherhold might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant -- but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he's as downright flummoxed as the next guy.

Genre

Drama, Comedy, Romance

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Smart People (2008) is now streaming with subscription on Max

Director

Noam Murro

Production Companies

Miramax

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Smart People Audience Reviews

Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!
Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!
AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
thisanant a perfect blend of story , performance and humor , movies like this and I wonder , how can I get a movie like this among the garbage I get to see with only better marketing and more stupidity . Ellen page and DENNIS QUID are so talented , I mean he is an accomplished actor and makes it look like a documentary with authentic acting and she is maybe the best in her generation. it is funny too .
Prismark10 A sideways look at at household of smart people and you come away thinking that they also have dysfunctional lives.Dennis Quaid is Doctor Wetherhold a misanthropic literature professor at a Pittsburgh University.He loves literature but has lost his passion teaching it and lost his passion in writing. Maybe because he is so up himself that no one reaches his high standard apart from his robotic, young Republican daughter who is friendless.His son who shows gift as a writer has little to do with him and Wetherhold has been living a lonely life since his wife died and would be regarded as a social misfit.When he suffers a fall Wetherhold is treated in ER by a former student (Sarah Jessica Parker) and he takes his first tentative steps to reacquaint himself with life out there.When his adopted brother (Thomas Haden Church) turns up who is a bit of a waster, he ends up chauffeuring Wetherhold around and loosens up his daughter by introducing her to drink and drugs but she has a crush on him.The film is a melodrama with some humour provided mainly by Church. Its an independent film taking a sideways look at an intellectual family who are a little in the deep end. Church plays someone who is a little bit too much like his character in Sideways and both him and Quaid have some bad facial hair. They should had grown real moustaches or beards.
SnoopyStyle Carnegie Mellon English Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) is a miserable widower English Professor at Carnegie Mellon. His son Jame (Ashton Holmes) goes to the college. His daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page) is an overachieving Republican high school student. His car gets impounded and he gets injured trying to climb the fence. His ER doctor Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker) used to be his student. She reports his head injury to the DMV and he can't drive for six months. His slacker adopted brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) needs a place to stay and Lawrence needs somebody to drive him. Lawrence is not happy about it.The father is utterly miserable. The rom-com with Janet is tiring. The romance is awkward at best with very limited comedy. I really can't see the chemistry. Ellen Page tries to inject a bit of fun along with Thomas Haden Church. At least, they are funny and not quite so bitter. They make this watchable.
Rodrigo Amaro People are complicated. Sometimes there's people who are funny, people who are boring, people who are popular and people who don't. And there's smart people and there's dumb people (whatever that means). And then there's a movie called "Smart People", a movie about complicated persons trying to make things easy (or not). A simple conversation can be too difficult even to a Literature teacher (played by Dennis Quaid) whose arrogance, egocentricity and lack of attention make him forget the name of his students, ignore the fact that his son (Ashton Holmes) buys expensive books and that his daughter (Ellen Page) is trying to enter into a college. And worst: he's a widower man that after an accident falls in love for her medical doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker). And even more worst: while recovering from this accident his adopted brother (Thomas Haden Church) starts to live in his house. If you are only reading the names of the actors here you might want to see this film right now but I tell you: If you think you're going to like it or it's a good movie think again. To call "Smart People" of a boring movie is to diminish its potential. I say that this movie hasn't anything new to show besides of being a compilation of several different movies together that didn't make a good one. All the characters are egoistic, intelligent but with no regards about other people's interest. To them everything is motive of laugh. Too much sarcasm and too much black humor didn't worked at all. Ellen Page is becoming type-casted as sarcastic characters who delivers awkward punchlines after other just like in "Juno" (excellent film by the way). It was annoying. Dennis Quaid's character was too overacted in his manners and in his intelligence. After all it's all boring persons making other people's life more boring but I'll say more. In life, intelligent (or smart if you prefer) are always put aside from other people. Many times they don't have enough skills to talk, skills to be popular, skills to say simple things rightly, and they're too shy to say something or when they say it sounds incomprehensible to some people. Okay, we've seen "The Revenge of the Nerds" and we know that's exactly how it works. But "Smart People" reduced its public by stating that smart people are ignorant and they must be ignored and they don't know how to have a good time, always putting themselves behind books and something similar, not to mention use sarcasm as a weapon. Wrong. There are cases and there are cases. What about people who has Asperger's Syndrome? What about people with social phobia? What about shy people? All these examples are ruthless, cold hearted and sarcastic? It was a too critical movie with no funny moments at all (perhaps one or two scenes). It also has a speech about change what you are. The uncle in the film always try to involve his niece into something new like smoke pot or go to a bar, because he thinks she's always studying to go to college and doesn't have too much time for fun. Or Dennis's character being repelled by Sarah Jessica in their first date because he only talks about himself and his career. Wait a minute. If you love someone you want to change this person? Can't you respect that person for what she or he is? Once again it judged some people too much and you might get depressed or annoyed with that. Screenplay: Bad. It didn't create any interesting situation whatsoever. Acting: Nothing spectacular or inspiring to see. Direction: Misguided and lost at some times. Movie: 4 stars because I've seen worst movies and this is just pointless and has some level of knowledge.