Smart People | 
| Director: Noam Murro
Actors: Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page, Ashton Holmes
Studio: Miramax
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $0.85
as of 11/23/2009 00:21 CST details
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Rating:  74 reviews
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 5650603
UPC: 786936755916
EAN: 0786936755916
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: August 12, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | From the producer of SIDEWAYS -- get to know a lovable yet dysfunctional family everyone can relate to in this lighthearted comedy PEOPLE (Leah Rozen) calls "smart and enjoyable." When Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) -- a widowed and self-absorbed professor -- falls for his attractive former student (Sex And The City's Sarah Jessica Parker), his all-too-predictable life suddenly tur |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Much in the manner of Curtis Hanson's Wonder Boys, the very funny and bracingly intelligent Smart People concerns a college instructor meandering through life until unexpected developments force a cascade of personal changes. Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid), a recently widowed literature professor, is a numb and chilly intellectual who rebuffs his students, ignores his all-but-emancipated teen kids (Ashton Holmes and Juno's Ellen Page), and spurns cries for financial assistance from his ne'er-do-well but rather soulful adopted brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church). After an accident lands Lawrence in the hospital and deprives him of the right to drive, someone else falls into his bleak sphere: Janet (Sarah Jessica Parker), a physician and former student of Lawrence who remembers her disappointment in him as a teacher and role model. Against all logic, Janet and Lawrence become a romantic item, a choice for which neither of them is entirely prepared. Meanwhile, Chuck and Vanessa (Page) enter an awkward phase in their relationship as niece and uncle, just another sign that the Wetherhold clan has become too insular and self-referential. Screenwriter Mark Poirier's inspired and literate story sets up lots of chaos, attitude, and cross-conflict, then hangs back and lets the characters verbally spar, much to our great amusement. What's happening, however, are deep changes in relationships and destinies that Lawrence and the others naturally resist, until they can't. Director Noam Murro knows one of his most important contributions to the film is to stay out of the characters' way and provide Poirier's barbed humor a supportive setting. Quaid is outstanding as the pivotal figure in this tale, a man who looks creaky and washed up beyond his years, but who is not entirely past redemption. --Tom Keogh
Product Description
Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 08/12/2008 Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker Run time: 95 minutes Rating: R Director: Noam Murro
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 74
 inauspicious but winning drama November 15, 2009
Roland E. Zwick (Valencia, Ca USA)
***1/2
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 Michael Caine played 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.
 Lullaby November 15, 2009
Bob Humbug
This is a really great 95 minute trailer for a movie I'd really like to watch sometime. Thomas Haden Church provides comic relief from the dire and unrelenting tension of the indie style acoustic guitar which comprises the bulk of this film. I suppose if you're a big fan of sentiments like 'Let sleeping dogs lie,' this movie might be right up your alley. I prefer cartoons.
Not what it was said to be... November 7, 2009
S. Craig
I selected a new DVD for this purchase. When I got it in the mail the product was open, clearly used, and the package was even slightly damaged. I contacted the seller and she reimbursed me fully. I would have rather had the new product, but appreciated the refund.
Is this really the way smart people think of themselves? October 27, 2009
John M. Martin (Aurora, Colorado United States)
Much as I admired Dennis Quaid's performance in this film, it bothers me that the director buys into the myth of "brain smart--heart stupid" so glibly--a decidedly anti-intellectual message. It's just another example of bigotry masquerading as comedy.
 Smart People September 16, 2009
Denise Novak (Los Angeles, CA USA)
This film took place where my son graduated college so that is why I bought it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 74
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