Smart People
Thursday, 15 May 2008 13:36
Ellen Page and Dennis Quaid star in comedy-drama Smart People
Directed by Noam Murro, out May 16th in cinemas, starring Dennis Quaid, Ellen Page, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church, running time 95 mins.
In a nutshell…
Not as smart as it thinks.
What's it all about?
Grumpy widower Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) is rude to his Victorian Literature students at Carnegie Mellon college in Pittsburgh and has coped so poorly with the death of his wife that his two kids Vanessa (Ellen Page) and James (Ashton Holmes) are textbook examples of the products of poor parenting, with Vanessa an old-before-her-time book freak and James a pent-up ball of aggression.
When an accidental head injury leaves Lawrence unable to drive, the advent of his irresponsible adopted brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) proves a blessing in disguise while Lawrence's burgeoning relationship with doctor and former student Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker) begins to thaw the cold wastes of his heart.
To watch the trailer here on inthenews.co.uk, click here
Who's in it?
Golden Globe nominee Dennis Quaid made his breakthrough in 1979 coming-of-age flick Breaking Away before going on to roles in The Right Stuff, Innerspace, a starring role as Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire!, and later, the likes of The Parent Trap, Any Given Sunday, Flight of the Phoenix and a stunning turn in Far From Heaven.
Ellen Page received a best actress nomination for her star-making performance as the eponymous pregnant teen in Juno while Ashton Holmes sprung to movie audiences' attention as Viggo Mortensen's son in A History of Violence.
After years of minor character acting roles, Thomas Haden Church's career was revived with his Oscar-nominated performance as the immature Jack in Sideways, leading to a role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3, while his earthy tones recently graced animated films like Over the Hedge and Charlotte's Web.
Sarah Jessica Parker can soon be seen in the big screen adaptation of HBO's hit series Sex and the City.
As an example...
"These children haven't been properly parented in many years. They're practically feral. That's why I was brought in." - Chuck
"I'm in an after-school special." - a stressed Vanessa after 'uncle' Chuck offers her a joint.
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars?
Unlikely - Quaid, Page and Church put in performances as impressive as you'd expect, (though the former is overreaching a little), but it's inferior to most other offerings from its genre. The soundtrack could get a nomination but it's hard to remember any of the numerous gentle acoustic tracks that murmur along with the film.
What the others say
"Smart People is an indie film that plays the (jangle, jangle) same chords (strum, strum) as a lot of other heartfelt comedies about too-wise children and codgers taking humanity lessons." - Kyle Smith, New York Post
"Strong performances and a few laughs, but the story feels lazy next to superior efforts recently in the same genre." - Helen O'Hara, Empire
So is it any good?
Had nothing else of this family-centred indie ilk come along in recent years, Smart People could comfortably pull in awards left, right and centre, provoke a career resurrection for Quaid and see Ellen Page heralded as one of the most promising actresses of her generation. But it's too late. The likes of About Schmidt, Sideways - yes, Alexander Payne's been fairly important - and Juno have already cemented intelligent independent fare as a fixture of mainstream cinema, Page already has an Oscar nomination under her belt and Quaid earned deserved respect for his role in Far From Heaven.
While there's nothing fundamentally wrong with what's on offer here, with Church as amiable as ever, satisfying character arcs in place and the type of soothing soundtrack you'd expect in this genre, it just doesn't compare with the superior offerings from the same stable.
The script - while packed with the collegial detail you'd expect from writer Mark Poirier, a former professor - fails to fizz like Juno or Sideways, the promising (if troubling) sub-plot of Vanessa's misguided affection for her adoptive uncle is underdone, and Sarah Jessica Parker is far out of her depth in a role in which originally cast Rachel Weisz would have excelled.
And - crucially - the 'smart' aspect of the title and the piece as a whole could be its fatal flaw. The smartest characters, namely Lawrence and Vanessa, are given the most screen time but are easily the least likeable on show - with Holmes utterly wasted as the monosyllabic son - and there's too often a sense that we as audience members are being talked to and reminded that - hey - smart people have feelings too.
5/10
Lewis Bazley
Check out some clips from Smart People below, here on inthenews.co.uk:
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