On the DVD Circuit: Smart People

Bomby · 08-11-2008, 10:30 AM

Directed by Noam Murro
Stars Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page (aka that Juno girl), and Thomas Haden Church (aka the guy from Sideways who isn't Paul Giamatti)

People have often described average movies as being "good simply for not being bad." Smart People just might be the opposite. There's nothing glaringly horrible about it at first look, but the movie is emotionally empty.

That's not to say the movie doesn't try quite hard to convey some sort of emotion. 90% of the movie is spent wallowing through the sorrow of Prof. Lawrence Wetherhold, who would probably have been a much more sympathetic character through the hands of a better director. Ellen Page plays his smart and quote-unquote "funny" daughter. Insert Juno comparisons here. Their world is flipped upside-down when Lawrence suffers a seizure and his lazy brother (Church) moves in to help as a driver.

Prof. Wetherhold begins dating a former student of his, the same doctor who helped him recover from the seizure (Parker). One would assume she's supposed to be seen as a likable and intriguing character, but she just comes off as cold. They have about as much chemistry one would imagine 50 Cent would have with Laura Bush, and despite this, the movie tries its hardest to make us believe that there is something magical happening between them. It fails.

A lot of potentially good scenes are ruined by replacing dialogue with canned adult contemporary guitar jams. Most of the other potentially good scenes are cut off too soon before anything spectacular can actually happen. In some movies, it works when characters develop off screen. In Smart People, it doesn't.

In fact, Smart People's biggest flaw is that it only scratches the surface of things that have the potential to be interesting. Most obvious is Wetherhold's son's relationship with one of the women who is on the committee for the selection of head of the English department, a position in which Wetherhold is vying for. We aren't given any insight into what implications this relationship could have, and ultimately, it ends up becoming utterly pointless to even show the two of them together. Page's friendship with Church, one of the more interesting parts of the first half of the film, is cut off all too suddenly.

At best, the film shows that Israel-born director Noam Murro has potential to be a decent filmmaker, and for a first film, Smart People is a respectable attempt at being a comedy drama a la Sideways 2: Electric Boogaloo. Speaking of which, don't be fooled by the advertising technique that says "from the producers of Sideways" - Alexander Payne is not involved in any way, shape or form.

Smart People doesn't really ever take off. As a comedy, it's not funny, and as a drama, it's not engaging. But it does make a good attempt, which is likely to win it a few fans.

Sean P Kelly · 08-11-2008, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bomby

Speaking of which, don't be fooled by the advertising technique that says "from the producers of Sideways" - Alexander Payne is not involved in any way, shape or form.

Who ever said Alexander Payne was the producer of Sideways? He was the DIRECTOR. The producer was Michael London, who is indeed the producer of Smart People.

Anyways, I saw the film in theatres and you can read what I though of it in my blog (I don't think my thoughts are too different from Bombay's).

Bomby · 08-11-2008, 06:08 PM

^ My mistake. I thought he produced Sideways, also. As it turns out, he hasn't produced any of his own films.

Not like he needs to since the lucky bastard has final cut rights.

08-11-2008, 10:30 AM	#1
Bomby You just freaking blew Joe Biden's mind! Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: WHAT?house Gender: Posts: 19,491 Thanks: 513 Thanked 1,449 Times in 849 Posts Blog Entries: 5	On the DVD Circuit: Smart People Directed by Noam Murro Stars Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page (aka that Juno girl), and Thomas Haden Church (aka the guy from Sideways who isn't Paul Giamatti) People have often described average movies as being "good simply for not being bad." Smart People just might be the opposite. There's nothing glaringly horrible about it at first look, but the movie is emotionally empty. That's not to say the movie doesn't try quite hard to convey some sort of emotion. 90% of the movie is spent wallowing through the sorrow of Prof. Lawrence Wetherhold, who would probably have been a much more sympathetic character through the hands of a better director. Ellen Page plays his smart and quote-unquote "funny" daughter. Insert Juno comparisons here. Their world is flipped upside-down when Lawrence suffers a seizure and his lazy brother (Church) moves in to help as a driver. Prof. Wetherhold begins dating a former student of his, the same doctor who helped him recover from the seizure (Parker). One would assume she's supposed to be seen as a likable and intriguing character, but she just comes off as cold. They have about as much chemistry one would imagine 50 Cent would have with Laura Bush, and despite this, the movie tries its hardest to make us believe that there is something magical happening between them. It fails. A lot of potentially good scenes are ruined by replacing dialogue with canned adult contemporary guitar jams. Most of the other potentially good scenes are cut off too soon before anything spectacular can actually happen. In some movies, it works when characters develop off screen. In Smart People, it doesn't. In fact, Smart People's biggest flaw is that it only scratches the surface of things that have the potential to be interesting. Most obvious is Wetherhold's son's relationship with one of the women who is on the committee for the selection of head of the English department, a position in which Wetherhold is vying for. We aren't given any insight into what implications this relationship could have, and ultimately, it ends up becoming utterly pointless to even show the two of them together. Page's friendship with Church, one of the more interesting parts of the first half of the film, is cut off all too suddenly. At best, the film shows that Israel-born director Noam Murro has potential to be a decent filmmaker, and for a first film, Smart People is a respectable attempt at being a comedy drama a la Sideways 2: Electric Boogaloo. Speaking of which, don't be fooled by the advertising technique that says "from the producers of Sideways" - Alexander Payne is not involved in any way, shape or form. Smart People doesn't really ever take off. As a comedy, it's not funny, and as a drama, it's not engaging. But it does make a good attempt, which is likely to win it a few fans. Last edited by Bomby; 08-11-2008 at 10:50 AM.

08-11-2008, 06:08 PM	#3
Bomby You just freaking blew Joe Biden's mind! Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: WHAT?house Gender: Posts: 19,491 Thanks: 513 Thanked 1,449 Times in 849 Posts Blog Entries: 5	^ My mistake. I thought he produced Sideways, also. As it turns out, he hasn't produced any of his own films. Not like he needs to since the lucky bastard has final cut rights. Last edited by Bomby; 08-11-2008 at 09:51 PM.