- Release Date: August 12, 2008
- Publisher: Miramax
- Price: $19.99 on Amazon.com
- Rating: R (language, brief teen drug and alcohol use, some sexuality)
- Run Time: 95 minutes
- Bonus Features: Deleted Scenes, Interviews with the Filmmakers and Cast, Bloopers/Outtakes, Commentary
- Genre: Comedy
- Buy It on Amazon.com
Not only is “Smart People” not smart or witty, it is downright unlikable. When the cast is full of likable actors (I’ve always liked Dennis Quaid and who doesn’t love Ellen Page) and I could care less about any of their characters, it isn’t hard to figure out that this is a below average film.
“Smart People” focuses on Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) and his family. Lawrence is a very bright Carnegie Mellon professor who is lacking when it comes to emotion and social intelligence (he doesn’t even bother to learn his students’ names). His daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page) is very similar and spends most of her time working to get into a good school. Lawrence is quickly admitted to a hospital with a seizure. There, he doesn’t realize that his doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker) is actually one of his ex-students. I think even those non “Smart People” out there can figure out what happens next.
The biggest problem with the film is that it isn’t funny or even witty. Coming in a close second is the lack of likable characters. This isn’t the cast’s fault, they really aren’t given much to work with. Another problem is the boring and rather predictable plot. Video and audio are fine but quite dreary to fit in with the film’s tone. Extras are plentiful but if you don’t enjoy the film, you probably won’t get any enjoyment out of them.
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend “Smart People” for anyone. This is very disappointing because the cast is quite good. Sadly, the film isn’t.
