#84 - Smart People

Directed by Noam Murro
2008 Comedy
Rated R

***

Smart People, the debut feature for Noam Murro, was a big hit at Sundance, and it would appear that the distributor has Juno-like hopes for it. That will NOT be happening, commercially or critically. Juno was a brilliant character study of a bunch of people who acted like they knew more than they really did, and the people around them who appeared, for lack of a better word, dumber, but were actually smarter than they looked. The script was brilliant, the acting was brilliant, and even Jason Reitman's (underrated) directing was brilliant. Smart People, on the other hand, is an easy way to pass two hours. Nothing about it is spectacular, but nothing is really bad, either. Dennis Quaid stars as Lawrence Wetherhold, a college professor who's (recently?) lost his wife. After suffering a seizure, his doctor (Sarah Jessica Parker) says that he will need a driver for six months. Enter adopted brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church), a middle-aged underachiever who gladly jumps at the opportunity, despite the protests of Lawrence. Add to that cast an ultra-conservative high school daughter (Ellen Page) and an underachieving son (Ashton Holmes), and you have a lot of the right ingredients for a great film. Unfortunately, nothing ever completely works. For instance, basically the entire plotline/romance between Quaid and Parker's characters never worked for me; in fact, every time the two were on-screen by themselves, I found myself quickly losing interest. Thank God for Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church; EVERY scene they have had me at least chuckling, if not laughing out loud. Page proves to any doubters that her performance in Juno was neither one-note nor a fluke; here, playing a completely different character, she is just as funny, and can still do more with a look than most people can do with a joke. Haden Church, while really just playing a variation on his Sideways character, still manages to generate more than half of the film's laughs. Ashton Holmes (A History of Violence) is also good in a small role as Quaid's son. The script is not really anything to write home about, but it certainly shows a talent that could definitely develop into greatness if he works at it. It's got more than enough jokes, but lays on the drama a little to thickly for what is supposed to be overall a comedy. Finally, as much as I like Dennis Quaid, he's really just too much to bear here; he switches his character's two personalities on and off like a light switch. It was like would think to himself, "Ok, I have to be a douchebag today, so let's get into that personality." And Sarah Jessica Parker is just...well, you know. Overall, however, this is an enjoyable film that is certainly an easy way to kill two hours. Just don't go in expecting another Juno.