Smother (2008/II)

Director:

Vince Di Meglio

Writers (WGA):

Tim Rasmussen (written by) &
Vince Di Meglio (written by)

Release Date:

26 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Everyone wants to be loved. Just not this much.

Plot:

After he's fired from his job, an everyday guy faces pressure from his wife to have a baby and from his mom, who has decided to move in with the young couple.

Plot Keywords:

One Word Title

Cast

Diane Keaton	...	Marilyn Cooper
Dax Shepard	...	Noah Cooper
Liv Tyler	...	Clare Cooper
Mike White	...	Myron Stubbs
Ken Howard	...	Gene Cooper
Selma Stern	...	Helen Cooper
Jerry Lambert	...	Donnie Booker
Don Lake	...	Minister
Sarah Lancaster	...	Holly
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cameron Bender	...	Jim
Kimberly Bosso	...	Baby Shower Guest
Ron Butler	...	Friendly Man
Rachel Cannon	...	Waitress
Cindy Clark	...	Barbara
Jacque Lynn Colton	...	Cindy
Frank Crim	...	Bob
Celeste Damron	...	Pain Pal
Sharon Di Meglio	...	Pain Pal
Lucas Gorak	...	Tommy
Johnny Hagen	...	Karaoke Singer
Taj Hester	...	Beagle
Henriette Ivanans	...	Therapy Receptionist
George Kendall	...	Tony
James Taku Leung	...	Hartanto
Carlos McCullers II	...	Basset Hound
Tara Moore	...	Pippi
Alexandra Murdy	...	Annika
Judy Nishimine	...	Pain Pal
Steven Christopher Parker	...	Dana
Dawn Rasmussen	...	Pain Pal
Jess Rowland	...	Karaoke DJ
Jerry Sherman	...	Art
Matt Steinauer	...	Carpet Bazaar Mascot
Cletus Young	...	Sam

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, some drug material and language. (edited; previously rated R for some sexual references.)

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Australia:M | Taiwan:PG-12 | Finland:K-11 | Singapore:NC-16 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Carsey-Werner Company

Quotes:

Marilyn Cooper: What do you do, Myron?
Myron Stubbs: I'm a screenwriter.
Marilyn Cooper: Oh, really? How interesting.
Myron Stubbs: I'm working on a sci-fi horror set in the jungles of Vietnam. Lt. Tom Dawson gets infected by Agent Orange-infused malaria, then mutates into a violent but misunderstood creature driven to insanity by the horrors of herbicidal warfare. My original title was Mansquito, but that's already taken, so my working title is PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Destroyer. It's sort of Platoon meets The Fly.
Noah Cooper: Sounds like it'll really capture the authentic Vietnam experience.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Labyrinth (1986)

Soundtrack:

My Little Bee

Smother really sucks

After seeing the poster from the film Smother,I knew I was about live one of those intolerable film experiences which make me want to take my eyes out.However,I felt a slight optimism because the movie had a solid cast which I thought it was going to rescue the movie.Unfortunately that did not happen.Smother is a horrible movie,but it is not execrable.That is the best I can say about it.

The screenplay from Smother (written by the same guys from License to Wed,something which explains they have anything but talent for writing movies) is full of cheap and predictable humor.Seriously,I did not laugh even once at this film.Besides,the solid cast I previously mentioned is absolutely wasted.After the big number of garbage she has been involved in (like the monumentally atrocious and execrable Because I Said So),some people may think the career from Diane Keaton is extinguishing.However,it is impossible for me to forget the excellent performances she has brought in previous decades,on films like Annie Hall or Baby Boom.On Smother,she makes her best effort with her performance,but her character is so horribly written she cannot do anything with it.Dax Shepard has left on me a good impression with his solid performances on the films Baby Mama and Idiocracy.However,he does what he can with his character.Mike White also makes a good effort,but he does not reach too far away.He is a very talented screenwriter (like he has shown on films like The Good Girl and School of Rock),so I would have liked to see he was one of the screenwriters from this movie,instead of only acting on it.Liv Tyler suffers from the same situation of all the previously mentioned actors : being wasted.

The worst fail from Smother is being absolutely boring and unfunny.Its screenplay is nothing more than a collection of forced scenes and situations we have seen on sit-coms.Stay far away from this crappy comedy.