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

Less is more

Not for your average movie-goer, this one. Although the situation is teed up nicely for a typical feel-good ensemble gush-fest, it resists that temptation and takes you to a place where the characters are not, although they seem to need it, ready for rehab. It has an easy, rambling style that gradually rather than gratuitously opens their world to us without (for the most part) overly relying on hackneyed situations and gimmicks (although Quaid's insistence on keeping his wifes clothing was not one of them). In fact, the situations portrayed are so dark and lo- keyed that I wondered if this movie could have been made without the ready-made typecast qualities of Quaid, Haden-Church and Parker. ...Gritty Pittsburgh backdrop in a very real academic surrounding adds to the slice-of-life tone.