Smart People

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Smart People

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Noam Murro
Produced by Bridget Johnson, Michael Costigan, Michael London, Bruna Papandrea
Written by Mark Poirier
Starring Dennis Quaid
Sarah Jessica Parker
Thomas Haden Church
Ellen Page
Ashton Holmes
Music by Nuno Bettencourt
Editing by Yana Gorskaya
Distributed by Miramax Films
Release date(s) January 20, 2008 (Sundance)
April 11, 2008
Running time 93 min.
Country Flag of the United States
Language English
Budget $7 million
IMDb profile

Smart People is a 2008 comedy film starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church. The film was directed by Noam Murro and written by Mark Poirier. It was filmed on location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, including several scenes at Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh International Airport. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival,[1] where North American distribution rights were acquired by Miramax Films. The wide release was on April 11, 2008.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Carnegie Mellon English Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) is a depressed middle-aged widower. He is arrogant at work, uninterested in his students, and alienated from his two children. His adopted ne'er-do-well brother Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) arrives to borrow money and stay for a while, and tries to unwind Lawrence's lonely, high-achieving teenage daughter Vanessa (Ellen Page). Meanwhile, Lawrence has a meet cute with a sympathetic doctor, Janet (Sarah Jessica Parker), a former student he does not recall. Janet fulfills her long-ago crush with a "face-to-face" date with the professor, at which he displays his stultifying arrogance. On another night, in the midst of a contentious Christmas family dinner at the Wetherholds's, Janet arrives unannounced with a cake. After Chuck gets Vanessa drunk and she makes a pass at him, he moves in part-time with Lawrence's son James (Ashton Holmes) in his college dormitory. James's girlfriend and Lawrence's student Missy (Camille Mana) tells Lawrence that James has had a poem accepted at The New Yorker. By contrast, Lawrence has failed to sell his latest academic tome to any publisher. Vanessa changes the title to You Can't Read! and the book is sold to Penguin Group, a large non-academic publisher in New York. Janet accompanies Lawrence on a trip to New York, where she learns she is pregnant by Lawrence and then breaks up without telling him the news. Back in Pittsburgh a few weeks later, Lawrence goes to the hospital to reconcile with Janet, who reveals her pregnancy. He has meanwhile become a more involved parent and professor. During the end credits, the main characters cradle twin babies.

[edit] Cast

Dennis Quaid on the set of Smart People at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Dennis Quaid on the set of Smart People at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

[edit] Production

According to actor Camille Mana, the script for Smart People circulated in Hollywood for several years, and "previously Robert Redford was supposed to direct it and it was developed at Focus Features."[2] The film originally was set at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., but filming an independent film in that city was deemed too difficult.[3]

Filming at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh occurred in November and December 2006.[4][5] The shooting schedule was compressed by Hollywood standards, at 29 days.[6]

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.[7][8]

[edit] Critical reception

As of May 11, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 49% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 113 reviews.[9] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 57 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.[10] The movie received an average score of 60.9% from 58 film critics according to Movie Tab.[11]

[edit] Box office performance

In its opening weekend, the film grossed an estimated $4.2 million in 1,106 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #7 at the box office. The first week gross was estimated at $5.7 million.[12] As of May 1, 2008, the movie has received $8,618,190 in the United States box office while receiving $352,525 overseas making an international gross of $8,970,715.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sundance (2007-11-28). "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Competition" (PDF). Press release. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  2. ^ "Camille Mana is Smart People", Asiance Magazine, April 2008. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. 
  3. ^ Clemmons, Rachael. "'Smart People': On screen and on campus", The Tartan, 2008-03-31. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. 
  4. ^ "'Smart People' to film this week", The Tartan, 2006-11-06. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. 
  5. ^ Peters, Andrew; Laura Thorén. "'Smart People' on campus", The Tartan, 2006-11-13. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. 
  6. ^ Douglas, Edward (2008-04-04). CS Talks to Smart People. Coming Soon. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  7. ^ "Dennis Quaid's twin babies involved in LA hospital drug overdose", San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, 2007-11-21. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. 
  8. ^ Kroft, Steve. "Dennis Quaid Recounts Twins' Drug Ordeal", 60 Minutes, CBS News, 2008-03-16. Retrieved on 2008-04-13. 
  9. ^ Smart People Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  10. ^ Smart People (2008): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  11. ^ Movie Tab: Smart People Reviews. Movie Tab. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
  12. ^ Smart People (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.

[edit] External links

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