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(About Our Ads) "SMART PEOPLE" (2008) (Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Minor Heavy None None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Minor Moderate Moderate Minor QUICK TAKE: Dramedy: The dysfunctional and unhappy lives of an intellectual dad and his two smart kids are shaken up by the arrival of their freeloading uncle. PLOT: Lawrence Wetherhold (DENNIS QUAID) is an English Lit professor at Carnegie Mellon, but he isn't a nice or happy guy. Unable or unwilling to learn his students' names or meet with them about their work, he's still stinging from yet another publishing failure. Things aren't much better at home, as his son, James (ASHTON HOLMES), is enrolled at the university, but isn't pleased when his dad drops by, while his younger sister, high-schooler Vanessa (ELLEN PAGE), has inherited her dad's intellectual elitism and thus has no friends. With her mom having died sometime in the past, Vanessa must play the role of the surrogate homemaker while also cramming for the SATs. Accordingly, neither she nor her dad is pleased when Lawrence's adopted brother, Chuck (THOMAS HADEN CHURCH), shows up as he's inclined to do whenever he needs money. Lawrence doesn't want to give him any, but he needs a chauffeur of sorts following a fall and subsequent seizure that has emergency room doctor Janet Hartigan (SARAH JESSICA PARKER) order that he not drive for the next six months. He's unaware that she's a former student of his, and one who had a crush on him and still seems to now. From that point on and as Lawrence tries to get his latest book published while also vying for the chairman spot of the English department, Chuck encourages him to ask Janet on a date, while also trying to get Vanessa to loosen up and be happy. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or dramedies about dysfunctional families, it doesn't seem too likely. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For language, brief teen drug and alcohol use, and for some sexuality. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: DENNIS QUAID plays an intellectually elitist college professor and self-centered misanthrope who doesn't seem to want much of anything to do with his students. He's unhappy with his life, no doubt spurred on by his wife's death in the past, but ends up trying to date Janet, a former student of his (and does have sex with her). He also uses some profanity and drinks some. SARAH JESSICA PARKER plays his former student turned emergency room doctor who had and still has something of a crush on him, and thus starts to date him. Yet, she blows him off after they have sex and is even meaner (due to being confused) when she learns she's pregnant. She briefly smokes and briefly uses profanity. THOMAS HADEN CHURCH plays Lawrence's adopted, adult brother, a freeloader who doesn't share the family's intellectual elitism and only shows up when he needs money. He drinks and briefly smokes pot (sharing both with his underage niece), uses strong profanity, and does his best to shake his family out of their unhappy funk. ELLEN PAGE plays his niece, a high school student who's an intellectual elitist like her dad. Serving as the family's surrogate homemaker, she has a bad attitude toward Janet, and comes on to her uncle while drunk. She also briefly smokes pot, and uses strong profanity. ASHTON HOLMES plays her older brother, a student at the same college where his dad teaches, but isn't happy when he drops by for a visit. He also clashes with his sister, drinks some, and fools around with another student. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated dramedy. Profanity consists of at least 6 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue (some of it explicit) is present, as is an off-screen sexual encounter (that leads to an unplanned pregnancy) and the sight of two partially undressed college students fooling around. A man's bare butt is twice seen while he sleeps. A man is injured by falling from a fence, and tense family material is present (including references to a dead wife/mother). Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while drinking and smoking occur, as does brief pot smoking (with a 17-year partaking in both the marijuana and beer upon the urging of her middle-aged uncle, and ends up intoxicated from the latter). Other behavior may be enticing for some kids to imitate. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Chuck has a beer. Chuck has a beer with a meal. Chuck lights up a joint, states that Lawrence used to smoke pot all of the time and was known as "Hookah Larry," and then shares that with Vanessa. We later see them eating snacks (the joke being that they had "the munchies"). Later, and after Lawrence has returned home, Vanessa nervously tells Chuck that she thinks her dad may have smelled the pot. Lawrence and Janet have wine in a restaurant, as do others. Vanessa mentions some person being seen in photos with "crack babies." Lawrence has a drink and then drinks from the bottle. Miscellaneous people have wine in a restaurant where the waiter asks Janet and Lawrence if they'd like some, but she says she can't since she's on call. Miscellaneous people drink in a bar where Chuck gets a pitcher of beer for himself and Vanessa (who's underage). Later, Vanessa is quite intoxicated. Janet has wine. Chuck, Lawrence and his two kids have wine with dinner, with Lawrence commenting on them not being old enough to drink legally (with James sarcastically saying he needs something to wash down Vanessa's cooking). Lawrence then sarcastically states, "Let's all get drunk." Lawrence carries a bottle of champagne to celebrate his publishing success, but it's never opened. Chuck empties a trashcan full of empty beer cans and another is thrown from a dorm room and hits him on the back. Chuck has a beer. BLOOD/GORE Lawrence tells another person (about having to sit in the seat behind the driver rather than in the passenger's seat) that if he (Lawrence) vomits, both of them will look stupid. No vomiting occurs. About Vanessa and Janet passionately kissing, Vanessa sarcastically says she's going to "puke." DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE We see that Lawrence has parked and taken up two parking spaces. He does this again later. Lawrence changes his office clock to be after closing time so that he doesn't have to meet with a student. We also hear that he has a reputation for not knowing who any of his students are, past or present. After his car has been towed and impounded, Lawrence tries to bribe the student watchman to allow him to get his car. Vanessa has a snarky, sarcastic and intellectually elitist attitude toward most everyone, and she instantly takes a disliking to Janet. A female teacher complains that student evaluations of her always question her sexuality. Vanessa and Chuck take her late mom's clothes to a donation center (without informing Lawrence, who's been keeping them and isn't happy to learn - later - about what they did). Chuck shares his marijuana joint with Vanessa and later takes her out drinking (despite her being underage). On their date, Lawrence only talks about himself and doesn't ask anything about Janet. Chuck sarcastically equates Vanessa being a young republican to a Hitler youth party. Seeing Vanessa with her much older uncle at a bar, some girls make fun of her being out with her "grandpa." While intoxicated, Vanessa spots some slightly older girls and asks them what it's like being stupid. One asks her back what it's like eating alone, and Vanessa says "It sucks." The terms "retarded" and "socially retarded" are used in the film. Since he's now avoiding her after she kissed him while drunk, Vanessa tells Chuck that she respects his homosexuality and makes other gay-related jokes and comments. Janet discovers she's pregnant (by Lawrence) and then acts cold/mean toward him (and doesn't immediately tell him about the news). FRIGHTENING SCENES None. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck off," "You just want to f*ck that trashy waitress," "Who the f*ck's gonna read that?" "A f*cking bully," "You litigious little sh*t," "That's some interesting sh*t there," "I had a monumentally sh*tty day," "Conceited d*ckhead," "Don't freak out," "Shut up," "(Little) bitch," "I appreciate the tip, Dr. Phil," "What the hell are you doing here?" "Pain in the butt," "You're a monster," "Hookah Larry," "I'm in an after-school special," "What a narc," "Pompous wind-bag," "It sucks," "You're a giant toddler," "Moron," "If you'd like, I could jam that up your ass," "We could use a little anti-venom in the snake pit," "(Socially) Retarded," "I'm going to puke," "I completely respect your homosexuality," "You don't have to act like a complete misanthrope," "What the hell's your problem?" "Don't screw everything up," "Douche-bag," "You have the I.Q. of a dumb-ass ant," "You're insane," "Loser" and "You were being such an ass." We see that Lawrence has parked and taken up two parking spaces. He does this again later. Lawrence walks in and sees Chuck lying on top of an open photo-copier, but we don't see any nudity (of what he was copying). Lawrence changes his office clock to be after closing time so that he doesn't have to meet with a student. An actor on TV has a tattoo. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 6 "f" words (2 used sexually as is the term "laid"), 8 "s" words, 1 slang term using male genitals ("d*ckhead"), 6 asses (3 used with "hole"), 2 hells, 2 uses of "God" and 1 use of "Jesus." SEX/NUDITY James makes a sarcastic comment about only getting the opportunity to get "blown" (oral sex) once a month. A female teacher complains that student evaluations of her always question her sexuality. With Lawrence preparing for his date with Janet, Chuck tells him that spending $50 on dinner means intercourse, with Vanessa making some snarky sexual comment about that statement. Vanessa isn't happy about Janet dating her dad and asks her if she forgot about the Hippocratic oath she took about "not f*cking your patients." Janet replies that Lawrence is no longer her patient. Janet shows a little cleavage. As Lawrence returns early from his date with Janet, Chuck states that he takes it by Lawrence's presence at 8:45 that "you did not get laid." Vanessa spots her brother and some girl making out a bar and labels that as disgusting. Post-sex (in bed, under the covers), Lawrence tells Janet that he isn't used to condoms, but thinks it went okay. We then see her in her bra when she gets out of bed, and she then lies about being paged so that she doesn't have to spend the night with him. Later, Janet discovers that she's pregnant. While intoxicated, Vanessa passionately kisses Chuck, making him uncomfortable. Vanessa then tells him, "You just want to f*ck that trashy waitress." We see Lawrence shirtless in bed. About Vanessa and Janet passionately kissing, Vanessa sarcastically says she's going to "puke." We see Chuck sleeping in his long underwear that's open in the back, showing his bare butt. Since he's now avoiding her after she kissed him while drunk, Vanessa tells Chuck that she respects his homosexuality and makes other gay-related jokes and comments. We see a young woman on top of James in bed in her panties and they're passionately kissing (with related sexual sounds). Lawrence knocks on the door and interrupts them, however, causing James to get up (in his boxers) to talk to his dad at the door. We see a miscellaneous man in just a towel. We see Chuck's bare butt and back as he sleeps face down in bed. Lawrence asks Janet why she'd have a baby with him (meaning the lifestyle choice), with her half-sarcastically replying it's because he doesn't properly know how to use a condom. SMOKING Janet smokes once, while some miscellaneous smoking also occurs. TENSE FAMILY SCENES James isn't happy to see his father show up at his dorm room. Vanessa states her mom has been dead for a number of years, and she isn't happy having to play the family's surrogate housekeeper. Lawrence isn't happy to see Chuck when he shows up (since it always means he wants/needs money), and is disappointed in him at various points in the film. Vanessa and Chuck take her late mom's clothes to a donation center (without informing Lawrence, who's been keeping them and isn't happy to learn - later - about what they did). Vanessa and James often clash in a quarrelling siblings sort of way, including him being mean about her holiday cooking. Vanessa tells Lawrence that he isn't very happy, and that he's her role model. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT People who act like intellectual elitists. How families deal with the death of a parent. Street smarts vs. book smarts. Being a college professor. Lawrence's comments that students once showed an interest in literature, but are now only interested in getting A's (grades). Chuck shares his marijuana joint with Vanessa and later takes her out drinking (despite her being underage). It's briefly implied that a male coworker of Janet's is gay. VIOLENCE Lawrence scales an impound lot fence to retrieve something from his car, but ends up falling from the fence when crossing back over it, landing hard on the pavement (we hear he had a trauma-induced seizure, but seems fine after a brief hospital stay). An actress slaps an actor on a TV soap opera. Reviewed March 27, 2008 / Posted April 11, 2008