Smooth Talk (1985)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Joyce Chopra

Writers:

Joyce Carol Oates (story)
Tom Cole (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 February 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

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...

Plot Keywords:

Suburb | Sexual Awakening | Hot Pants | Mother Daughter Relationship | Shopping Mall

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

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
David O'Neill	...	Mall Boy
Craig Caddell	...	Mall Boy
Darian Alioto	...	Mall Creep
Gary Harris	...	Mall Creep
Sally Schuab	...	Saleslady
William Desmond	...	Laura's Dad
Michael Vaughn	...	Leroy
Rob Blair	...	Beach Boy
Edgar Kahn	...	Beach Boy
Spenser Mains	...	Eddie's Friend

Directed by
Joyce Chopra

Writing credits
Joyce Carol Oates		(story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been")
Tom Cole		(screenplay)

Produced by
Lindsay Law	....	executive producer
Timothy Marx	....	associate producer
Martin Rosen	....	producer

Original Music by
Russ Kunkel
George Massenburg
Bill Payne

Cinematography by
James Glennon

Film Editing by
Patrick Dodd

Casting by
Mary Colquhoun

Production Design by
David Wasco

Set Decoration by
Robert Joyce

Costume Design by
Carol Oditz

Makeup Department
Lynn Marie Curreri	....	hair stylist
Natalie Mucyn	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Mary M. Ensign	....	production manager
Roy Kissin	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Timothy Marx	....	first assistant director
Gail Mezey Morris	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Gordon Harrison	....	storyboard artist
Douglas Jones	....	set constructor
Bruce Mink	....	property master
Eileen Turner	....	assistant property master

Sound Department
Stephen Balliet	....	boom operator
Mark Berger	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Douglas Murray	....	sound editor
Philip Perkins	....	production sound mixer
Dennie Thorpe	....	foley artist

Stunts
Rocky Capella	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Jon Caradies	....	best boy
Nancy Ellison	....	special still photographer
Dan Gillham	....	gaffer
Michael L. Glennon	....	first assistant camera
Craig Haagensen	....	camera operator
Dana Kershner	....	additional still photographer
Chris Lombardi	....	second assistant camera
Michael Santy	....	additional photographer
Reed Smoot	....	additional photographer
Jani Vournas	....	dolly
Jani Vournas	....	key grip
Paul Wachter	....	dolly grip
Paul Wachter	....	key grip

Casting Department
Ann Brebner	....	casting: West Coast

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Teressa Longo	....	wardrobe assistant
Mary Schuba Stutz	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Mark Levinson	....	assistant editor
Bill Westwick	....	negative cutter
Gwendolyn Yates Whittle	....	assistant editor (as Gwendolyn Yates)

Music Department
James Taylor	....	musical director

Transportation Department
Len Levine	....	driver
Craig A. Patterson	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Jennifer Almquist	....	assistant to director
Donna K. Baker	....	title designer
Carol DePasquale	....	script supervisor (as Carol De Pasquale)
Laurie Noll	....	location manager
Kerry Peterson	....	production coordinator
B. Rosen	....	production office manager
Kerry Stanwyck	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• American Playhouse
• Goldcrest Films International
• Nepenthe Productions
• Palmyra Films

Distributors

• International Spectrafilm (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Arcadia Digital (2005) (Greece) (Cyprus) (TV) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1987) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Artificial Eye (1986) (UK)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Interformat  titles and opticals
• Leonetti Cine Rentals  camera equipment provided by
• Mason Studio Services  location equipment
• Saul Zaentz Film Center  sound re-recording

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Santa Rosa, California, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Teens (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Is That the Way You Look

Strange mix of growing-pains drama and psychological study

Laura Dern is perfect as lanky lass in a small town sparring with her parents, estranged from her older sister, desperate to be liked and to be with boys. Opening moments of this adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"--with Dern and friends doing the mall--are realistic but nothing too original; second portion of the film, with Laura meeting smooth talking Treat Williams (who comes dressed like the James Dean poster on Dern's wall) is elongated and dry (you can almost feel the director's confidence slipping away). It's an encounter I didn't particularly care for, nor did I buy the rosy ending either. However, there are fine moments in "Smooth Talk", the most devastating of which lies in a conversation between Dern and indifferent sis Elizabeth Berridge (in a terrific performance): Dern recalls a vivid, lovely childhood memory between the two, but after listening and thinking it over, Berridge tells her, "I don't remember..." **1/2 from ****