Dennis Quaid stars as self-absorbed English professor Lawrence Wetherhold in "Smart People," a unfulfilling indie comedy/drama. Lawrence, who is still mourning over his late wife, lives with his college-age son James (Ashton Holmes) and bright, overachiever daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page.) One day he his immature, pothead adopted brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) moves in. Adding to his troubles is a head injury he suffers while trying to climb a fence to get to his car, which had been impounded.
When he wakes up in a hospital, he is greeted by Janet (Sarah Jessica Parker), a former student of his. Janet has been attracted to Lawrence since she was in college, and the two go out together when he leaves the hospital. However, Janet is annoyed by his self-absorbtion as well as his fear of getting close to people (he talks about English throughout their entire date.) Lawrence, who likes Janet despite his bad social skills, starts questioning the path he and Vanessa's lives are taking.
The most interesting aspect of this film are the interactions between Vanessa and Chuck, two very different people living in the same house (Ellen Page is excellent as usual.) Unfortunately, Lawrence and Janet's relationship, which is the focus of the movie, leaves a lot to be desired. Also, the characters are hard to like and the movie itself is kind of dull. I thought "Smart People" was worth seeing, but I'm not in a rush to watch it again. (Rated R)
When he wakes up in a hospital, he is greeted by Janet (Sarah Jessica Parker), a former student of his. Janet has been attracted to Lawrence since she was in college, and the two go out together when he leaves the hospital. However, Janet is annoyed by his self-absorbtion as well as his fear of getting close to people (he talks about English throughout their entire date.) Lawrence, who likes Janet despite his bad social skills, starts questioning the path he and Vanessa's lives are taking.
The most interesting aspect of this film are the interactions between Vanessa and Chuck, two very different people living in the same house (Ellen Page is excellent as usual.) Unfortunately, Lawrence and Janet's relationship, which is the focus of the movie, leaves a lot to be desired. Also, the characters are hard to like and the movie itself is kind of dull. I thought "Smart People" was worth seeing, but I'm not in a rush to watch it again. (Rated R)
No comments:
Post a Comment