Smart People R

Sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn
126K ratings
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Format:  DVD
item number:  JKFC
on most orders of $75+
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Smart People for $16.10

DVD Details

  • Rated: R
  • Closed captioning available
  • Run Time: 1 hours, 35 minutes
  • Video: Color
  • Encoding: Region 1 (USA & Canada)
  • Released: August 12, 2008
  • Originally Released: 2008
  • Label: Miramax Lionsgate

Performers, Cast and Crew:

Starring , , &
Performer:
Directed by
Screenwriting by
Composition by
Produced by , , &
Director of Photography:
Executive Production by , , , , , , &

Entertainment Reviews:

Rotten49%

TOMATOMETER
Total Count: 148

Spilled39%

AUDIENCE SCORE
User Ratings: 102,384
[I]t feature witty dialogue and good performances...Church has some of the film's funniest lines, along with Ellen Page...
USA Today
Apr 11, 2008
An amiable, often insightful presentation of brainy characters in a dysfunctional family. Full Review
The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)
Feb 5, 2018
Smart People is just a funny, sturdy, touching movie about the way grief keeps on rippling. Full Review
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
Aug 21, 2017
[T]he great virtue of SMART PEOPLE, attributable to Noam Murro's easygoing direction as well as to Mr. Poirier's wandering screenplay, lies in its general preference for small insights over grand revelations.
New York Times
Apr 11, 2008
The film is the kind of observational comedy that should be enjoyed while there's still a chance....Poirier's feel for character, ear for dialogue and eye for detail are superb.
Los Angeles Times
Apr 11, 2008
Doesn't exactly oust The Royal Tenenbaums or The Squid and the Whale, but this family-go-round sitcom is a lot more accessible. Full Review
East Bay Express
May 6, 2010
So much good work must not go overlooked. I just loved this movie because it's witty, intellectual without being pretentious, and filled with characters who are logically stressed and anxious to connect to a world outside of themselves.
Observer
Apr 16, 2008

Product Description:

Dennis Quaid stars as a bitter, washed out widower in SMART PEOPLE, a film that tackles the lives of several seriously unhappy people in surprisingly funny and touching ways. A hated literature professor at Carnegie Mellon, Lawrence Wetherhold has been earning the scorn of his students, colleagues, and family since the death of his wife several years ago. The only person on his side is his teenage daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page), whose loyalty and similarities to her father belie her tender age. Between running the Young Republicans club and aiming for a perfect SAT score, the over-achieving high school student knows no life beyond the insular world of family. When the film begins, the family dynamics are well established, with Lawrence merely going through the motions of his life, unable to muster up any passion for parenting or even his literary expertise. It takes a seizure, an unexpected visit from his adopted brother (Thomas Haden Church), and a new romantic interest (Sarah Jessica Parker) to shake things up and stir Lawrence from his constant misery.

Driven by a clever script and fine performances, SMART PEOPLE is set in the land of academia, a place where both Lawrence and Vanessa have taken refuge and plunged themselves into as escape from the external world. In spite of their high IQs, both father and daughter are equally clueless when it comes to navigating relationships. This becomes obvious as Vanessa develops a line-blurring relationship with her uncle, and Lawrence stumbles in romancing his doctor. If Vanessa wants a shot at happiness and Lawrence wants to make things work in his love life, both will have to adopt new attitudes or risk further alienation. Church is hilarious as Chuck, Lawrence's adopted slacker brother, adding a funny but heartfelt element to the otherwise serious film.

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Product Info

  • UPC: 031398138020
  • Shipping Weight: 0.25/lbs (approx)
  • International Shipping: 1 item

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