Smart People (2008)

Smart people aren't always

Dennis Quaid plays an English professor so pompous and self-contained that the unpleasant odor of mothballs must emanate off that tweed jacket he wears. Stuck. Stuck in a past when his wife died and he became a widower. Stuck in a career where he allows no growth for himself. Smart people.

His daughter, a pompous and bombastic smart person, is a brainiac headed to Stanford. Her uncle pretty much defines her as a robotic android. The uncle and adopted brother comes into the story early on. A n'e'r-do-well who enjoys muddling through life, he, too, is one of the "smart people." He uses his intelligence to become the an unintentional nudge for change for the daughter.

Then there's the son, now a student at the same college where his dad doggedly teaches. Dr. Wetherhold most likely uses the same notes prepared the first time he delivered the lecture. Words just billow from him like smoke and not living things to be savored with others--his students. He holds their essays in as much disdain. During the course of the story he positions himself to be named the head of the English department.

The pivotal point of the story is the doctor who treats Lawrence in the emergency room and grounds him from driving for six months (actually in retaliation for a C he assigned one of her essays written ten years earlier when she was his student and originally an English major.)

They go out to eat. After he delivers a 45-minute soliloquy about Victorian literature, she interrupts to tell him what a stuffed windbag he is and leaves.

All these people live in a grim reality of unrequited happiness, acceptance of the status quo, and inertia to change anything. Little by little, life intercedes. There's a miracle that changes everything.

"Smart People" is about smart people, but not as a positive attribute. To take pride in being smart and not extending beyond oneself is the height of selfishness. Some thinkers would say this is good, but the characters in this story don't even know they are lost in a maze of the thick muck of conceit and the supercilious. However, when two smart people collide and a tiny spark flickers, anything can happen.
September 28, 2008

Its okay.

A lot of talent and dennis quaid made a movie. And, its okay. Its not bad. Its not great. Its good, no serious holes or terrible plot, just a movie. September 26, 2008

"We Could Use Some Antivenin in Here" ...

The Wetherhold family is still reeling from the death of its matriarch. The environment is simply toxic. Professor Wetherhold clings to his departed wife's clothes. And, his teenage daughter uncannily slides into Mom's role: making dinners with internet recipes, tending to the laundry, and conducting various other hausfrau duties. When Uncle Lawrence arrives to help/mooch, the hilarity (almost but not really) begins.

As is customary with indie films, there is nothing tidy about this work. Most of the characters are deliberately detestable: Professor Wetherhold (Quaid) is a self-absorbed misanthrope, his teenage daughter (Page) may as well be his doppelganger, and love-interest Dr. Hartigan (Parker) is excruciatingly insular (and still obsessed with a "C" paper she received in the professor's Victorian Literature course). While well-played, this dynamic becomes deadly ... the film just stagnates.

Now, the one redeeming feature of this work is Thomas Haden Church's portrayal of Uncle Lawrence. Though nothing could possibly make this film truly great, Church makes it bearable. (And I thought I'd hate him for eternity after his despicable role in Sideways!) With stark honesty, Church revives our memories of "that uncle" ... the one with all the "get rich quick" ideas, the one needing a place to crash, the one who bought you beer when you were sixteen ... yeah, that guy. And, instead of playing a buffoon, Church brings the role depth. There is something vulnerable in his character. For all his flaws, he is by far the most human ... and it is he who begins to heal the "brilliant family." (Ironic, I suppose).

Much like doctors who detest ER, I found myself made uncomfortable by the depiction of academia (which constitutes the bulk of the film). Yes, it really is all politics ... yes, jargon-laden garbage really does translate to serious promotions ... but the whining students were just painful. I guess every seat-filler thinks he/she is memorable ... I can assure you, most aren't. Why should Professor Wetherhold feel guilty for not remembering inconsequential people? Why should he regret making less-than-glowing comments on student-papers? It's his job. I guess I'm just too close to the subject to be objective, but it seems some overly sensitive English major (who once-upon-a-time received a "hard-breaking" "C") wrote this script.

Be prepared for a slow-paced film with some flashes of genuine comedy ... but nothing that will alter your life ... nothing you will even care to discuss (in the faculty lounge) on Monday morning.
September 24, 2008

Smart Dysfunctional People

I think 'Smart People' is an acquired taste, but it's a movie that I definitely enjoyed. A cross between 'Little Miss Sunshine' and 'As Good As It Gets, 'Smart People' is witty, sarcastically humorous and intelligent.

The characters are quirky and awkward; each of their personalities is taken to such an extreme that it becomes comical. Great acting overall; Ellen Page is brilliant in the role of Vanessa, an over-achieving, anti-social teenager. I was slightly disappointed with Sarah Jessica Parker, as her mannerisms were too reminiscent of 'Sex and the City', especially during the bedroom scene.

September 18, 2008

Not a Comedy, Not "Smart," NOT worth your time

This movie is as funny as The Seventh Seal and about as intellectual as Transformers. Simply because Smart People's characters use words, phrases, and cite literary works few know outside Academia does not make this inpalatanle piece of unadulaterated garbage intelligent, and thus I found it to be obnoxious. It isn't funny. It isn't that smart. It's dull, boring, and depressing.

I would give it 0 stars, but the minimum for Amazon is 1.

Do not waste your time on Smart People. September 14, 2008

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