Smart People
Encyclopedia
Smart People is a 2008 American
comedy-drama film starring Dennis Quaid
, Sarah Jessica Parker
, Ellen Page
and Thomas Haden Church
. The film was directed by Noam Murro, written by Mark Poirier
and produced by Michael London
, with Omar Amanat
serving as executive producer.
Smart People was filmed on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, including several scenes at Carnegie Mellon University
and the Pittsburgh International Airport
. Premiering at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
, North American distribution rights were acquired by Miramax Films
and the film was released widely
on April 11, 2008.
Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Quaid) is a middle-aged widower. He is bitter and arrogant at work, uninterested in his students, and alienated from his two children. His adopted ne'er-do-well brother, Chuck (Church), arrives to borrow money and stays for a while as he tries to unwind Lawrence's lonely, overachieving teenage daughter, Vanessa (Page).
Meanwhile, Lawrence suffers a trauma
-induced seizure after falling from the top of a fence in an attempt to retrieve his briefcase from inside his impounded car. In the emergency room, he is treated by Dr. Janet Hartigan (Parker), a former student he does not remember. Janet tells Lawrence that because of his seizure, he is not allowed to drive for six months. When he returns home from the hospital, Chuck is still there, and he offers to drive for him in return for letting him move in.
Lawrence goes to the hospital for a follow-up, where another doctor tells him Janet had been his student. He meets Janet again outside the hospital as he is leaving and, since Chuck has failed to show up, she offers to take him home. When they arrive, he asks Janet to join him for a "face-to-face conversation." She agrees, fulfilling her old student crush on the professor. Vanessa is not pleased, confronting Janet about Lawrence's fragility. At dinner, Lawrence monopolizes the conversation and Janet walks out. Lawrence fakes a visit to the emergency room to see Janet again and the two reconcile for a second date. They get back to Janet's place where they have sex, but while spending the night, Janet is turned off by Lawrence's neediness and worries that he is, in fact, still too distraught by his wife's death. To get rid of him, she feigns being called in by the hospital and does not return any of his subsequent calls. On another night, in the midst of a contentious family Christmas
dinner at the Wetherholds', Janet arrives unannounced with a cake.
After Chuck gets Vanessa drunk to celebrate her early acceptance into Stanford University
, she makes a pass at him, which he rejects. He then moves in part-time with Lawrence's son, James (Ashton Holmes
), in his college dormitory.
James' girlfriend, Missy (Camille Mana
), who is one of his father's students, tells Lawrence that James has had a poem accepted by The New Yorker
. In contrast, Lawrence's latest academic tone has been universally rejected. After Vanessa suggests a new title, You Can't Read!, the book is sold to Penguin Group
, a large non-academic publisher in New York
. To Lawrence's dismay, however, the book is largely re-worked and edited by the publisher and only vaguely resembles his original work. Janet accompanies Lawrence on a trip to New York to meet with the publisher, where she learns she is pregnant with his child. Finding him preoccupied by his book's publishing and an on-going campaign to become chairman of the English Department, Janet is again upset by Lawrence's self-absorption and breaks up with him without telling him the news.
Back in Pittsburgh, Lawrence is confronted by both James and Chuck, who both point to his apparent lack of interest in his children's lives. Encouraged by Chuck, Lawrence goes to the hospital to reconcile with Janet, who reveals her pregnancy. He has meanwhile dropped his bid to become department head and has become a more involved parent and professor.
During the end credits, Lawrence and Janet cradle twin babies: one boy and one girl.
in Washington, D.C.
, but filming an independent film in that city was deemed too difficult.
Filming at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh occurred in November and December 2006. The house used as that of the Wetherholds is in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Friendship. The shooting schedule was compressed by Hollywood standards, at 29 days. According to the director, Noam Murro, in the audio commentary of the DVD, filming was actually completed before that of Juno
.
The photographs of the cast holding twin babies in the credits appear to be a nod to actor Dennis Quaid's twins born in November 2007, and his subsequent awareness campaign over medical drug dosage errors.
reported that 49% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 134 reviews. Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 33 reviews. The Los Angeles Times
, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times
all gave the film more positive reviews. However, the movie is included in the videogum.com Hunt For the Worst Movie of All Time, which gives out predictably bad reviews.
and Canada
, ranking #7 at the box office. The first week gross was estimated at $5.7 million. As of July 29, 2008, the movie has received $9,511,289 in the United States box office while receiving $1,069,335 overseas making a worldwide gross of $11,839,695.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
comedy-drama film starring Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid
Dennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
, Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
, Ellen Page
Ellen Page
Ellen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
and Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
. The film was directed by Noam Murro, written by Mark Poirier
Mark Poirier
Mark Jude Poirier is a contemporary American novelist, short fiction writer, and screenwriter whose work often is set in the Southwestern United States...
and produced by Michael London
Michael London
Michael London is an American film producer who owns Groundswell Productions. He has produced over 20 films including Sideways, The Visitor, Win Win, and Smart People. The film Sideways was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture in 2005...
, with Omar Amanat
Omar Amanat
Omar S. Amanat is an American who has worked as an entrepreneur in the online trading industry and in the media industry.After graduating from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1995, he worked for a year at the online trading firm Datek Online...
serving as executive producer.
Smart People was filmed on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, including several scenes at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
and the Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport
Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and commonly referred to as Pittsburgh International, is a joint civil–military international airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township, approximately west of...
. Premiering at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was In Bruges and the closing night film was CSNY Déjà Vu.-Films:...
, North American distribution rights were acquired by Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
and the film was released widely
Wide release
Wide release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing nationally . Specifically, a movie is considered to be in wide release when it is on 600 screens or more in the United States and Canada.In the US, films holding an NC-17 rating almost never have a...
on April 11, 2008.
Plot
Carnegie Mellon EnglishEnglish studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Quaid) is a middle-aged widower. He is bitter and arrogant at work, uninterested in his students, and alienated from his two children. His adopted ne'er-do-well brother, Chuck (Church), arrives to borrow money and stays for a while as he tries to unwind Lawrence's lonely, overachieving teenage daughter, Vanessa (Page).
Meanwhile, Lawrence suffers a trauma
Physical trauma
Trauma refers to "a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident." It can also be described as "a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow." Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death...
-induced seizure after falling from the top of a fence in an attempt to retrieve his briefcase from inside his impounded car. In the emergency room, he is treated by Dr. Janet Hartigan (Parker), a former student he does not remember. Janet tells Lawrence that because of his seizure, he is not allowed to drive for six months. When he returns home from the hospital, Chuck is still there, and he offers to drive for him in return for letting him move in.
Lawrence goes to the hospital for a follow-up, where another doctor tells him Janet had been his student. He meets Janet again outside the hospital as he is leaving and, since Chuck has failed to show up, she offers to take him home. When they arrive, he asks Janet to join him for a "face-to-face conversation." She agrees, fulfilling her old student crush on the professor. Vanessa is not pleased, confronting Janet about Lawrence's fragility. At dinner, Lawrence monopolizes the conversation and Janet walks out. Lawrence fakes a visit to the emergency room to see Janet again and the two reconcile for a second date. They get back to Janet's place where they have sex, but while spending the night, Janet is turned off by Lawrence's neediness and worries that he is, in fact, still too distraught by his wife's death. To get rid of him, she feigns being called in by the hospital and does not return any of his subsequent calls. On another night, in the midst of a contentious family Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
dinner at the Wetherholds', Janet arrives unannounced with a cake.
After Chuck gets Vanessa drunk to celebrate her early acceptance into Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, she makes a pass at him, which he rejects. He then moves in part-time with Lawrence's son, James (Ashton Holmes
Ashton Holmes
Ashton Holmes is an American film and television actor, best known for the role of Jack Stall in A History of Violence and Private Sidney Phillips in the HBO miniseries The Pacific. He currently appears as Tyler Barrol on the ABC drama series Revenge.-Personal life:Holmes was born in Albany, New...
), in his college dormitory.
James' girlfriend, Missy (Camille Mana
Camille Mana
Camille Mana is an American actress.Born in Orange County, California, she is of Filipino/Chinese descent. Camille graduated from University of California, Berkeley in six semesters with a degree in Economics....
), who is one of his father's students, tells Lawrence that James has had a poem accepted by The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. In contrast, Lawrence's latest academic tone has been universally rejected. After Vanessa suggests a new title, You Can't Read!, the book is sold to Penguin Group
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
, a large non-academic publisher in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. To Lawrence's dismay, however, the book is largely re-worked and edited by the publisher and only vaguely resembles his original work. Janet accompanies Lawrence on a trip to New York to meet with the publisher, where she learns she is pregnant with his child. Finding him preoccupied by his book's publishing and an on-going campaign to become chairman of the English Department, Janet is again upset by Lawrence's self-absorption and breaks up with him without telling him the news.
Back in Pittsburgh, Lawrence is confronted by both James and Chuck, who both point to his apparent lack of interest in his children's lives. Encouraged by Chuck, Lawrence goes to the hospital to reconcile with Janet, who reveals her pregnancy. He has meanwhile dropped his bid to become department head and has become a more involved parent and professor.
During the end credits, Lawrence and Janet cradle twin babies: one boy and one girl.
Cast
- Dennis QuaidDennis QuaidDennis William Quaid is an American actor known for his comedic and dramatic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the 1980s, his career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame an addiction to drugs and an eating disorder...
as Lawrence Wetherhold - Sarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
as Janet Hartigan - Thomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden ChurchThomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
as Chuck Wetherhold - Ellen PageEllen PageEllen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...
as Vanessa Wetherhold - Ashton HolmesAshton HolmesAshton Holmes is an American film and television actor, best known for the role of Jack Stall in A History of Violence and Private Sidney Phillips in the HBO miniseries The Pacific. He currently appears as Tyler Barrol on the ABC drama series Revenge.-Personal life:Holmes was born in Albany, New...
as James Wetherhold - Christine LahtiChristine LahtiChristine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...
as Nancy - Camille ManaCamille ManaCamille Mana is an American actress.Born in Orange County, California, she is of Filipino/Chinese descent. Camille graduated from University of California, Berkeley in six semesters with a degree in Economics....
as Missy Chin - David DenmanDavid DenmanDavid Denman is an American film and television actor.-Education:After graduating from Fountain Valley High School, Denman attended the summer training congress at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco before receiving his B.F.A. from Juilliard.-Career:He made his film debut with Keanu...
as Dr. William Strauss - Don Wadsworth as Hadley
- Richard John WaltersRichard John WaltersRichard John Walters is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Harry Warden in the 2009 horror film, My Bloody Valentine 3D.-Biography:...
as Parking Lot Attendant
Production
The film was originally set at Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, but filming an independent film in that city was deemed too difficult.
Filming at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh occurred in November and December 2006. The house used as that of the Wetherholds is in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Friendship. The shooting schedule was compressed by Hollywood standards, at 29 days. According to the director, Noam Murro, in the audio commentary of the DVD, filming was actually completed before that of Juno
Juno (film)
Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
.
The photographs of the cast holding twin babies in the credits appear to be a nod to actor Dennis Quaid's twins born in November 2007, and his subsequent awareness campaign over medical drug dosage errors.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews. As of March 10, 2009, the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 49% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 134 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 33 reviews. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
all gave the film more positive reviews. However, the movie is included in the videogum.com Hunt For the Worst Movie of All Time, which gives out predictably bad reviews.
Box office performance
In its opening weekend, the film grossed an estimated $4.2 million in 1,106 theaters in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, ranking #7 at the box office. The first week gross was estimated at $5.7 million. As of July 29, 2008, the movie has received $9,511,289 in the United States box office while receiving $1,069,335 overseas making a worldwide gross of $11,839,695.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack from Smart People was released on April 8, 2008 and contained music by Nuno Bettencourt.- "This Is Your Life" by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
- "Q.P.D." by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
- "Stitch" by Baby AnimalsBaby AnimalsBaby Animals are a 1990s hard rock band from Australia.-Early history:The Baby Animals were formed in Sydney in 1989 by singer Suze DeMarchi, drummer Frank Celenza, guitarist Dave Leslie, and bassist Eddie Parise...
- "Early Checkout" by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
- "Need I Say More" by Cherone
- "Rush You" by Baby AnimalsBaby AnimalsBaby Animals are a 1990s hard rock band from Australia.-Early history:The Baby Animals were formed in Sydney in 1989 by singer Suze DeMarchi, drummer Frank Celenza, guitarist Dave Leslie, and bassist Eddie Parise...
- "Lotus" by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
- "Flow" by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
- "You Still Need Me" by Baby AnimalsBaby AnimalsBaby Animals are a 1990s hard rock band from Australia.-Early history:The Baby Animals were formed in Sydney in 1989 by singer Suze DeMarchi, drummer Frank Celenza, guitarist Dave Leslie, and bassist Eddie Parise...
- "School Girl Crush" by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
- "If Only" by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
- "Hamburger In Bed" by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...
- "Pursuit of Happiness" by Nuno BettencourtNuno BettencourtNuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt is a Portuguese guitarist and singer-songwriter best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme whose hits include the acoustic ballads "More Than Words" and "Hole Hearted"...