Smart People (2008)

Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.

Director:

Noam Murro

Writer:

Mark Poirier (as Mark Jude Poirier)

Stars:

Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dennis Quaid	...	Lawrence Wetherhold
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Janet Hartigan
Thomas Haden Church	...	Chuck Wetherhold
Ellen Page	...	Vanessa Wetherhold
Ashton Holmes	...	James Wetherhold
Christine Lahti	...	Nancy
Camille Mana	...	Missy
David Denman	...	William
Don Wadsworth	...	Hadley
Robert Haley	...	Roth
Patrick Sebes	...	Curtis
Kevin James Doyle	...	Rodney
Paul Huber	...	Ben (as Paul J. Huber)
Iva Jean Saraceni	...	Volunteer
Richard John Walters	...	Parking Lot Attendant

Storyline

Lawrence Wetherhold is miserable and misanthropic: he's a widower, a pompous professor at Carnegie Mellon, an indifferent father to a college student and a high-school senior, and the reluctant brother of a ne'er-do-well who's come to town. A seizure and a fall send Lawrence to the emergency room where the physician, a former student of his, ends up going on a date with him. His daughter, Vanessa, lonely and friendless, who's been bonding with his brother, tries to sabotage dad and the doctor's relationship, but Lawrence is good at that without help. Is there any way these smart people can get a life? Can happiness be pursued beneath layers of irony?

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Plot Keywords:

student | professor | emergency room | high school | college | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, brief teen drug and alcohol use, and for some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

11 April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Una familia genial

Filming Locations:

Allegheny General Hospital - 320 East North Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,092,465, 13 April 2008, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$9,496,882, 1 June 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Groundswell Productions, Sherazade Film Development

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rachel Weisz was originally cast opposite Dennis Quaid in this film, but she decided to leave the project. She was then replaced with Sarah Jessica Parker.

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Goofs

In the bar scene in the middle of the film, there is a song overdubbed. When you turn the subtitles on, the lyrics are displayed and prefaced by "Man:". However, a woman is singing.

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Quotes

Chuck Wetherhold: [to Lawrence] You spend $50 on dinner, that's grounds for intercourse.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #18.86 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Flow
Written and Performed by Nuno Bettencourt

User Reviews

Less is more

Not for your average movie-goer, this one. Although the situation is teed up nicely for a typical feel-good ensemble gush-fest, it resists that temptation and takes you to a place where the characters are not, although they seem to need it, ready for rehab. It has an easy, rambling style that gradually rather than gratuitously opens their world to us without (for the most part) overly relying on hackneyed situations and gimmicks (although Quaid's insistence on keeping his wifes clothing was not one of them). In fact, the situations portrayed are so dark and lo- keyed that I wondered if this movie could have been made without the ready-made typecast qualities of Quaid, Haden-Church and Parker. ...Gritty Pittsburgh backdrop in a very real academic surrounding adds to the slice-of-life tone.