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IMDbPro

Smart People

  • 20082008
  • RR
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
23K
YOUR RATING
Sarah Jessica Parker, Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, and Elliot Page in Smart People (2008)
Trailer for Smart People
Play trailer1:46
2 Videos
40 Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
23K
YOUR RATING
    • Noam Murro
    • Mark Poirier
  • Stars
    • Dennis Quaid
    • Thomas Haden Church
    • Sarah Jessica Parker
    • Noam Murro
    • Mark Poirier
  • Stars
    • Dennis Quaid
    • Thomas Haden Church
    • Sarah Jessica Parker
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 127User reviews
    • 153Critic reviews
    • 57Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    Smart People
    Trailer 1:46
    Watch Smart People
    Smart People
    Trailer 2:32
    Watch Smart People

    Photos40

    Sarah Jessica Parker in Smart People (2008)
    Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, Elliot Page, and Ashton Holmes in Smart People (2008)
    Elliot Page in Smart People (2008)
    Dennis Quaid and Elliot Page in Smart People (2008)
    Smart People (2008)
    Dennis Quaid and Thomas Haden Church in Smart People (2008)
    Sarah Jessica Parker and Dennis Quaid in Smart People (2008)
    Sarah Jessica Parker in Smart People (2008)
    Sarah Jessica Parker in Smart People (2008)
    Thomas Haden Church in Smart People (2008)
    Dennis Quaid in Smart People (2008)
    Elliot Page in Smart People (2008)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dennis Quaid
    Dennis Quaid
    • Lawrence Wetherhold
    Thomas Haden Church
    Thomas Haden Church
    • Chuck Wetherhold
    Sarah Jessica Parker
    Sarah Jessica Parker
    • Janet Hartigan
    Elliot Page
    Elliot Page
    • Vanessa Wetherhold
    • (as Ellen Page)
    Ashton Holmes
    Ashton Holmes
    • James Wetherhold
    Christine Lahti
    Christine Lahti
    • Nancy
    Camille Mana
    Camille Mana
    • Missy
    David Denman
    David Denman
    • William
    Don Wadsworth
    • Hadley
    Robert Haley
    Robert Haley
    • Roth
    Patrick Sebes
    Patrick Sebes
    • Curtis
    Kevin James Doyle
    • Rodney
    Paul Huber
    • Ben
    • (as Paul J. Huber)
    Iva Jean Saraceni
    Iva Jean Saraceni
    • Volunteer
    Richard John Walters
    Richard John Walters
    • Parking Lot Attendant
    Scott A. Martin
    Scott A. Martin
    • Weller
    Jane Mowder
    Jane Mowder
    • Knight
    Adam Kroloff
    • Talbot
      • Noam Murro
      • Mark Poirier
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • 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.
    • Goofs
      A classroom scene near the end of the movie shows the same items written on the board as a scene at the beginning of the movie - and all of the students are wearing the same clothes.
    • Quotes

      Chuck Wetherhold: These children haven't been properly parented in many years. They're practically feral. That's why I was brought in.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Nim's Island/Sexy and Death 101/Leatherheads/Forgetting Sarah Marshall/Shine a Light (2008)
    • Soundtracks
      This Is Your Life
      Written by Nuno Bettencourt and Gary Cherone

      Performed by Nuno Bettencourt and Suze DeMarchi

    User reviews127

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    inauspicious but winning drama
    A low-budget comedy/drama set in and around the city of Pittsburgh, "Smart People" is so muted and laidback in its demeanor and tone that it practically borders on the innocuous. Yet, it is just that seeming banality that makes the movie work in the long run.

    A pot-bellied Dennis Quaid plays a snarling, insensitive English Literature professor who's pretty much gone to seed in both his personal and professional life, a character not too far removed from the one played by Michael Caine in "Educating Rita." Lawrence Wetherhold is still so devastated by the death of his wife that he keeps all her clothes hanging in the bedroom closet as a sort of unholy shrine to the dearly departed woman. Needless to say, Lawrence hasn't made any great strides moving on with his life - until, that is, he strikes up a tentative romance with a physician and former student of his (Sarah Jessica Parker) who helps him to begin that too long delayed process of reconnecting himself to the world.

    There's nothing particularly original or earth-shattering in this umpteenth tale of a burnt-out teacher finding a renewal of commitment and purpose in his profession, but writer Mark Poirier has provided enough in the way of ancillary details of character and plotting to at least keep matters interesting.

    Ellen Page, for instance, plays Lawrence's overly possessive daughter, Vanessa, a college-bound Young Republican who's more obsessed with earning a perfect score on her SATs than with establishing meaningful friendships with people her own age. Thomas Hayden Church portrays her adoptive Uncle Chuck, a black sheep wastrel who, in point of contrast, makes even Lawrence look like a paragon of togetherness and success. Yet, despite his own troubles and failings, Chuck is the one who tries to get his niece to loosen up a bit and finally start enjoying life.

    Together these characters drift through life, making wry observations on their situations and relationships on their way to a happy ending.

    There may be a few too many musical montage sequences for the movie's own good, but the expository scenes, as directed by Noam Murro and performed by the actors, nicely capture the unhurried rhythms and simple ironies of everyday life.
    helpful•4
    1
    • Buddy-51
    • Nov 14, 2009

    FAQ1

    • Is this movie based on a book?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 11, 2008 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official Facebook
      • Official site
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
    • Production companies
      • Miramax
      • Groundswell Productions
      • Sherazade Film Development
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 35 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS

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