Synopsis
Professor Lawrence Wetherhold might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant -- but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he's as downright flummoxed as the next guy.
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Cast
- Dennis QuaidLawrence Wetherhold
- Sarah Jessica ParkerJanet Hartigan
- Elliot PageVanessa Wetherhold
- Thomas Haden ChurchChuck Wetherhold
- Ashton HolmesJames Wetherhold
- Jane MowderJulia Knight
- Barret HackneyJoseph
- Christine LahtiNancy
- Camille ManaMissy
- David DenmanWilliam
Recommendations
- 75
Entertainment Weekly
Smart People, unlike "Sideways" or "The Savages," has a plot that's a little too rote. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Poirier is a master at dialogue. His script crackles with sharp lines and he gives all his scenes a splendid comic undertow. - 67
Austin Chronicle
There much more roiling beneath the surface of these characters and it's a shame we don't come to understand them better. Smart people, dumb choices: it's true for both the characters and the filmmakers. - 67
The A.V. Club
Dennis Quaid could stand in for Jeff Daniels' similarly toxic snob in "The Squid And The Whale," if only he were a little smarter and a little better-dressed. - 63
ReelViews
The main problem with Smart People is that it never breaks new ground. This is territory we have seen tilled to better effect by more perceptive motion pictures. - 60
Variety
Dysfunctional family seriocomedy is well cast, but characters and conflicts lack the sharper definition of similar recent exercises like "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Upside of Anger" and Noah Baumbach's films. - 50
Chicago Tribune
Church is most at home in his character’s skin; aside from the game but strident Quaid, all the leading players are ideally cast. It’s the script that isn’t ideally cast. - 50
Washington Post
It's impossible to tell whether the film's ending is happy because it's happy or because it's ending.
