The Best and the Brightest (2010)

Set in the world of New York City's elite private kindergartens, THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST centers on a fresh-faced young couple, Samantha and Jeff, who have only recently moved into town.... See full summary »

Director:

Josh Shelov

Writers:

Josh Shelov, Michael Jaeger

Stars:

Neil Patrick Harris, Amelia Talbot, Bonnie Somerville

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Jeff
Amelia Talbot	...	Beatrice
Bonnie Somerville	...	Sam
Nina Hodoruk	...	Upper East Side Mom
Michael Elian	...	Middle Eastern Bag Dealer
Suzanne Savoy	...	Chapin Headmistress
Jennie Grace	...	Altoids Mom
Cornelia Guest	...	Spence Mom
Brea Bee	...	Grace Church Mom
Jenna Stern	...	Katharine Heilmann
Kelly Coffield Park	...	Cindy Tanaka-Blumstein (as Kelly Coffield)
Jos Laniado	...	Luis the Super
Amy Sedaris	...	Sue Lemon
Maria Armesto	...	Consuela
Peter Serafinowicz	...	Clark

Storyline

Set in the world of New York City's elite private kindergartens, THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST centers on a fresh-faced young couple, Samantha and Jeff, who have only recently moved into town. The comedy centers on their dawning realization of the lengths they must go to in order to get their five-year-old daughter into school.

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Taglines:

It's always the nicest people who have the filthiest minds.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, sexual content and some nudity.

Did You Know?

Goofs

At the book club meeting, Henry tells Jeff that he studied poetry at Barnard. Barnard is an all-girls' school.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jeff: Yo, B.
Beatrice: I'm up.
Jeff: Check it! "You are now leaving Delaware". Get ready to say goodbye to Delaware everybody. Here it comes... , Bye Delaware!
Beatrice: Bye Delaware! Bye Delaware! I'll see ya later.

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Connections

Referenced in Conan: Quoth the Hipster, 'Whatevermore.' (2011)

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Soundtracks

Chemicals Round
Written and Performed by Kenneth James Gibson (BMI)

User Reviews

It was not all that it could have been...

When I saw the cover for this movie I was a bit excited as I saw Neil Patrick Harris was on the cast. So it was with some anticipation that I sat down to watch this movie.

And now that I have seen it, I sit with an overwhelming sensation that just screams "was this movie really necessary?" The storyline told in "The Best and the Brightest" is fairly easy, almost too simple actually. A family moves to New York and have to find a kindergarten for their daughter. Then in order to get into this fancy kindergarten, events start to unfold and roll downhill, escalating into something bigger and bigger. The deeper the parents go in, the harder it gets to come clean.

The cast list, does hold some rather good names, and some performances were actually alright. However, I was really, really disappointed with Neil Patrick Harris's (playing Jeff) performance in the movie, it was so tame compared to how he was in previous movies and TV series. Peter Serafinowicz (playing Clark) and Jenna Stern (playing Katharine Heilmann) were the ones carrying the weight of the movie and making it bearable to sit through. And the role and performance of Christopher McDonald (playing The Player) was a really good injection of comedy for the movie. He is just superb.

Now, as for a comedy, there were surprisingly few places throughout the movie that had me laughing. Sure there were lots of scenes that could have been made to force laughter, but failed to do so. So I wouldn't go out and watch this with the intention to be entertained for the sake of laughs.

"The Best and the Brightest" is, sadly, one of those movies that comes by, dies off silently in the night, and is quietly forgotten.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cei mai destepti

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

High Treason Pictures, Wellfleet Phantasy Productions, Big Indie Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color