Smooth Talk (1985)

A free-spirited 15-year-old girl flirts with a dangerous stranger in the Northern California suburbs and must prepare herself for the frightening and traumatic consequences.

Director:

Joyce Chopra

Writers:

Joyce Carol Oates (story), Tom Cole (screenplay)

Stars:

Treat Williams, Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place

2 wins & 5 nominations.

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

Storyline

Based on the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, this film chronicles 15-year-old Connie Wyatt's sexual awakening in the Northern California suburbs. Before she enters her sophomore year in high school, she spends the summer moping around her family cottage. Connie passes the time cruising the shopping mall with her friends and flirting with boys at a local burger stand. However, her flirting begins to get out of hand when the mysterious stranger Arnold Friend takes an interest in her.

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Plot Keywords:

sexual awakening | suburb | running | hamburger joint | sister sister relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bedrohliches Geflüster

Filming Locations:

Santa Rosa, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Playhouse, Goldcrest Films International, Nepenthe Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the girls are looking across the street at Franks drive-in we see the gold Pontiac already in the lot, easy to pick out due to the left brake light being out. Then we hear the car coming down the road and see it turn into the parking lot, also sporting the non working light.

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Connections

Featured in Indie Sex: Teens (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Is That the Way You Look"
Performed by James Taylor

User Reviews

Wonderful Undiscovered Film About Sexual Maturity

A terrific lesser-known film that deserves a better rating than the one given it here at IMDb.

Based on a short story by Joyce Carol Oates called "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", "Smooth Talk" stars Laura Dern as a bored and restless adolescent who thinks she's more in control of her sexual allure, and more capable of handling the attention she receives for it, than she is. In a deeply unsettling and slightly surreal scene, a hunky stranger (Treat Williams) comes calling for her, and she realizes that she's not as mature as she thinks. The film captures the same other-worldly quality of the short story (the scene with Treat Williams plays out almost like a feverish dream), while ably adapting it to the very different needs of a feature length film.

Dern gives a wonderful performance, one of the many given by this underrated actress. And another lovely performance comes from Mary Kay Place, who plays Dern's mother. One of the most memorable scenes for me came when mother and daughter are in separate rooms of the house, but unbeknownst to each other are both privately dancing to the same song playing on the radio. I can never hear James Taylor's "Handyman" without thinking of this movie.

Grade: A