IMDb > Smooth Talk (1985)
Smooth Talk
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Smooth Talk (1985) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   590 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Joyce Carol Oates (story)
Tom Cole (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Smooth Talk on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 February 1986 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
Based on the short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been", by Joyce Carol Oates, this film chronicles a 15-year-old girl... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Signatures: Laura Dern
 (From FilmExperience. 21 June 2009, 4:37 PM, PDT)

Screenwriter Cole Dies
 (From WENN. 5 March 2009, 8:15 AM, PST)

User Comments:
The Star Was Born: more (26 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Treat Williams ... Arnold Friend

Laura Dern ... Connie

Mary Kay Place ... Katherine

Margaret Welsh ... Laura
Sara Inglis ... Jill (as Sarah Inglis)
Levon Helm ... Harry
Elizabeth Berridge ... June
Geoff Hoyle ... Ellie

William Ragsdale ... Jeff
David Berridge ... Eddie
Cab Covay ... Pick-up Driver
Michael French ... Stan
Joy Carlin ... Laura's Mother
Mark McKay ... Bobby King
Carl Mueller ... Mall Boy
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
92 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:
Featured in Indie Sex: Teens (2007) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Safe in the City more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
The Star Was Born:, 11 November 2006
8/10
Author: Galina from Virginia, USA

Since I read Joyce Carol Oates' short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" many years ago as a teenager myself (many Oates' works were translated to Russian - she was and I hope still is very popular there), I've been fascinated by it. I've read many Oates's stories and some of her novels but the 10 pages long story of 15 years old Connie, "shallow, vain, silly, hopeful, doomed— but capable nonetheless of an unexpected gesture of heroism at the story's end" has stuck in my memory and I could never forget it. When I found out that the story was adapted to the screen, I tried to find the movie, "Smooth Talk" (1985) directed by Joyce Chopra and I saw it finally last weekend. A disturbing coming of age drama, the winner of The Grand Jury Prize at 1986 features 18 years-old Laura Dern who appears innocent, gawky, and provocative all at once. Laura owns the film as a sultry woman-child who just began to realize the power of her sexual attractiveness during one long summer that would change her life forever. It does not surprise me a bit that Dern's next movie would be David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" where she played sweet and innocent Sandy and in a few years she would play her best role, Lula Fortune in his "Wild at Heart" (1990). The more I think of Laura, the more I see her as one of the most talented actresses of her generation. She is fearless in taking sometimes unflattering roles and she never lost that aura of innocence wrapped in irresistible sexuality that made her Connie in "Smooth Talk" so alive and unforgettable.

The links to the full text of the story and to the Oates' article about adapting it to the film are posted on the movie's message board. I was shocked to find out what the real story behind the fictional was.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Smooth Talk (1985)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
If Arnold Friend is a symbol, the what is 'Ellie' supposed to represent? xmuscularghandix
In the story, why did Arnold say elitehunting44
I wish they used the song in the movie! xX_chaos_Xx
Influence on David Lynch lovegnu
Question about the end lrcrbc
'Dangerous Hippie' jessicass
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