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Smart People is a 2008 American comedy-drama film starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elliot 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,[1] North American distribution rights were acquired by Miramax Films and the film was released widely on April 11, 2008.

Smart People
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNoam Murro
Written byMark Poirier
Produced byBridget Johnson
Michael London
Michael Costigan
Bruna Papandrea
StarringDennis Quaid
Sarah Jessica Parker
Thomas Haden Church
Elliot Page
Ashton Holmes
CinematographyToby Irwin
Edited byRobert Frazen
Yana Gorskaya
Music byNuno Bettencourt
Production
company
Grosvenor Park
Distributed byMiramax Films (United States)
QED International (International)
Release dates
  • January 20, 2008 (2008-01-20) (Sundance)
  • April 11, 2008 (2008-04-11)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish
Box office$11,839,695

Plot


Carnegie Mellon English Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) is a widowed parent of an alienated college son, James (Ashton Holmes), overachieving high school daughter, Vanessa (Elliot Page), and sibling to an adopted ne'er-do-well brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church) whom he cannot evade enough. He is bitter, arrogant, self-absorbed, and uninterested in his students. This becomes a problem when he parks illegally on campus. The car is impounded and he does not pay the fine before getting to the college impound lot, watched by a disgruntled former student. Lawrence has a trauma-induced seizure after falling from the top of a fence after retrieving his briefcase from inside the impounded car.

In the emergency room, he is treated by Dr. Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker), a former student he does not remember. Lawrence has to get about, but is unable to operate his car. His brother Chuck is without a place to sleep and a job, so Vanessa sets up what he characterizes as a "win/win" solution.

At a follow-up appointment, another doctor tells Lawrence that Janet had been his student. He sees 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 later meet for coffee and she agrees, fulfilling her old student crush on the professor. Vanessa confronts Janet, warning her about Lawrence's fragility. At dinner, Lawrence monopolizes the conversation and Janet walks out.

Lawrence visits the emergency room to see Janet again and she acquiesces to a second, "face to face conversation." After their wineless date, they return to Janet's place where they consummate their mutual attraction, but while spending the night, Janet is struck by a sudden bout of feminine insecurity, and feigns being called in to work 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, because Larry there had invited her earlier.

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, 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 book has been universally rejected. A new title, You Can't Read! (Vanessa's idea) helps sell the book to Penguin Group, a largely non-academic publisher. To Lawrence's dismay, however, the book is largely re-worked and edited by the publisher, only vaguely resembling his original work. Janet accompanies Lawrence on a trip to New York to meet with the publisher, where she learns she is pregnant with their child. Finding him preoccupied by his book's publishing and an ongoing 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: a boy named Sonny and a girl named Cher.


Cast


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

Production


The film was originally set at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., but filming an independent film in that city was deemed too difficult.[2] Filming at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh occurred in November and December 2006.[3][4] The house used as that of the Wetherholds is in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Friendship.[5] The shooting schedule was compressed by Hollywood standards, at 29 days.[6] Rachel Weisz was initially cast as Janet Hartigan, but was replaced by Sarah Jessica Parker before filming began.[7] 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.[8][9]


Soundtrack


The soundtrack from Smart People was released on April 8, 2008 and contained music by Nuno Bettencourt.

  1. "This Is Your Life" by Nuno Bettencourt.
  2. "Q.P.D." by Nuno Bettencourt.
  3. "Stitch" by Baby Animals.
  4. "Early Checkout" by Nuno Bettencourt.
  5. "Need I Say More" by Cherone.
  6. "Rush You" by Baby Animals.
  7. "Lotus" by Nuno Bettencourt.
  8. "Flow" by Nuno Bettencourt.
  9. "You Still Need Me" by Baby Animals.
  10. "School Girl Crush" by Nuno Bettencourt.
  11. "If Only" by Nuno Bettencourt.
  12. "Hamburger In Bed" by Nuno Bettencourt.
  13. "Pursuit of Happiness" by Nuno Bettencourt.

Reception


On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 50% of 151 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite its sharp cast and a few laughs, Smart People is too thinly plotted to fully resonate."[10] According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 57 out of 100 based on 33 critics, the film received "mixed or average reviews".[11] The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times all gave the film more positive reviews.[12][13][14] 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.[15] 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.


References


  1. "2008 Sundance Film Festival Announces Films in Competition" (PDF) (Press release). Sundance. 2007-11-28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  2. Clemmons, Rachael (2008-03-31). "'Smart People': On screen and on campus". The Tartan. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  3. "'Smart People' to film this week". The Tartan. 2006-11-06. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  4. Peters, Andrew; Laura Thorén (2006-11-13). "'Smart People' on campus". The Tartan. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  5. Vancheri, Barbara (2008-04-11). "A guide to Pittsburgh sites in 'Smart People'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  6. Douglas, Edward (2008-04-04). "CS Talks to Smart People". Coming Soon. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  7. Fleming, Michael (October 24, 2006). "Parker gets 'Smart'". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  8. "Dennis Quaid's twin babies involved in LA hospital drug overdose". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. 2007-11-21. Archived from the original on 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  9. Kroft, Steve (2008-03-16). "Dennis Quaid Recounts Twins' Drug Ordeal". 60 Minutes. CBS News. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  10. "Smart People Movie Reviews, Pictures — Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  11. "Smart People (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  12. Morgenstern, Joe (2008-04-11). "'Smart People' Gives Brainy Tale A Dose of Heart". The Wall Street Journal.
  13. Chocano, Carina (2008-04-11). "'Smart People' makes for yet another smart family comedy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  14. Scott, A. O. (2008-04-11). "A Disagreeable Academic, and a Tonic Named Sarah Jessica Parker". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  15. "Smart People (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-04-19.



На других языках


[de] Smart People

Smart People ist eine US-amerikanische Filmkomödie aus dem Jahr 2008. Regie führte Noam Murro, das Drehbuch schrieb Mark Poirier.
- [en] Smart People

[ru] Умники

«Умники» (англ. Smart People) — американская комедия-драма 2008 года с Деннисом Куэйдом, Сарой Джессикой Паркер, Эллен Пейдж и Томасом Хейден Чёрч в главных ролях, снятая режиссёром Noam Murroruen по сценарию Mark Poirierruen и спродюсированная Майклом Лондоном с Омаром Аманатом в качестве исполнительного продюсера. Фильм был снят в Питтсбурге, Пенсильвания и включал несколько сцен в Университете Карнеги — Меллона и международном аэропорту Питтсбурга. Премьера состоялась в том же году на национальном фестивале независимого американского кино Сандэнс, и фильм был высоко оценен критикой (9 звёзд из 10)[2]. Права на распространение в Северной Америке были приобретены кинокомпанией Miramax Films и для широкой публики фильм стал доступен с 11 апреля 2008 года.



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