Smart People

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Smart People

R

2008

1h 34m

Romance

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

50%

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148 Reviews

39%

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100,000+ Ratings

Acerbic, selfish and widowed, literature professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) is estranged from his son and his overachieving teenage daughter. Just as he begins a relationship with a former student (Sarah Jessica Parker), Lawrence's ne'er-do-well adoptive brother (Thomas Haden Church) lands on his doorstep. Lawrence realizes he must make some changes in his life and reconnect with his children in order to get on with his life.

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Critics Consensus

Despite its sharp cast and a few laughs, Smart People is too thinly plotted to fully resonate.

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Cath Clarke

Guardian

Smarter than your average romantic comedy it may be, but this family-dysfunction indie is playing it a bit safe.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 18, 2008

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Helen O'Hara

Empire Magazine

Strong performances and a few laughs, but the story feels lazy next to superior efforts recently in the same genre.

Rated: 2/5

May 16, 2008

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Alonso Duralde

MSNBC

And since, like 99 percent of all other Sundance-type indies, Smart People is shot in the dreariest grays possible ... the movie's not much to look at, either.

Rated: 2/5

May 1, 2008

Full Review

Jason Best

What's On TV

You know the [title] must be double edged; it just has to be an ironic cue for a tale about folk with stratospherically high IQs but with emotional intelligence that would shame an amoeba.

Nov 12, 2020

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Perfectly cast, intelligently written, and a nicely paced blend of humor and heart.

Rated: 3.0/4.0

Sep 23, 2020

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Felicia Feaster

Charleston City Paper

Murro tends to deal in surfaces. It's hard to get a sense of the human beings beneath the cardboard facades.

Jan 28, 2020

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Kar L

Smart People gets its titĺe by revolving around life at and around Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh... the land of smart people. Recently widowed CMU professor (Dennis Quaid) finds that he is forced to reconnect with both his wayward brother, and his neglected daughter and son. Good performances, especially the witty Thomas Hayden Church. Acerbic Ellen Page in an early role. .... One big problem is that there seems next to zero chemistry between the professor and his ER doctor "romance", the heel 👠wearing/hair tossing Sara Jessica Parker.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/13/25

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Monica A

6.5/10 means salad (it's worth a watch)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/12/25

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Stephen C

Unfunny in 1 hour and 34 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $9,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/27/25

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Christopher B

Smart People could have been a "smart" film but it instead squanders its talent and the screenplay leaves much to be desired. What could have been either a good drama or comedy film, "Smart People" is simply a slow moving and desperate story of miserable people. These characters know their issues but also are under the impression that they can't change and these situations make up a bulk of the story. It's not until the closing frames we see any real attempt at some revelation on the part of our main protagonist. What this means is that we are left with a character who simply is arrogant and conceited and the price he must pay in his relationships isn't overly meditative or amusing in any way. Instead of a smart and entertaining film dealing with the deeply emotional impacts of behavior on relationships and changing for the betterment of said relationships and instead the viewer is left with a contrived mess.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/22/22

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Audience Member

I love this film. I thought it accurately captured a family of intellectuals who may be academically smart, but have low emotional IQs. The writing was both witty and sensitive. I thought the casting was right on. It showed the development of all the characters quite well and how it resulted from Thomas Hayden Church's character showing up. His character quietly pushed them into dealing with their emotions.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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steve d

Strong performances and engaging script with an especially standout performance from Page.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Noam Murro

Director

Dennis Quaid

Lawrence Wetherhold

Sarah Jessica Parker

Janet

Thomas Haden Church

Chuck

Elliot Page

Vanessa

Ashton Holmes

James

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Synopsis

Acerbic, selfish and widowed, literature professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) is estranged from his son and his overachieving teenage daughter. Just as he begins a relationship with a former student (Sarah Jessica Parker), Lawrence's ne'er-do-well adoptive brother (Thomas Haden Church) lands on his doorstep. Lawrence realizes he must make some changes in his life and reconnect with his children in order to get on with his life.

Director: Noam Murro
Producer: Bridget Johnson, Michael Costigan, Michael London, Bruna Papandrea
Screenwriter: Mark Jude Poirier
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Groundswell Productions
Rating: R (Brief Teen Drug Use|Brief Teen Alcohol Use|Language|Some Sexuality)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 11, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 8, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.5M
Runtime: 1h 34m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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