Smart People Review
Posted by James McGee on 04.14.2008
AKA "Mean People"
Dennis Quaid—Lawrence Wetherhold
Sarah Jessica Parker—Janet Hartigan
Thomas Haden Church—Chuck Wetherhold
Ellen Page—Vanessa Wetherhold
Ashton Holmes—James Wetherhold
Directed by Noam Murro
Written by Mark Poirier
Runtime: 95 minutes
Rated R for language, brief teen drug and alcohol use, and for some sexuality
I don’t like mean people. I don’t like dealing with them on a daily basis, and if I see them in movies, I expect them to be knocked off their high-horse in spectacular fashion. But recent cinematic trends expect audiences to sympathize with hateful, arrogant characters—perhaps find them charming and endearing. Personally, I have a problem with that, which is why I had a problem caring about anyone in Smart People. Simply put, these are miserable human beings who try to suck everyone else into their self-pity vortex. The characters are at least memorable, both the story and performances are certainly above average, and everyone learns their token lesson. But by the end, I was already too alienated by all the venom to really care.
Lawrence Wetherhold is a grumpy, misanthropic college professor, still reeling from the untimely death of his wife. His self-absorption and elitism render him incapable of connecting to other people—even his own, dysfunctional family. An unwelcome visit from his dead-beat adopted brother and an unexpected romance with a former student have Lawrence realizing that there are more important things than Victorian poetry, and that letting others pierce his thick, emotional armor may not be a bad thing.
Smart People is a character-driven “dramedy,” which ends up being a bit of a catch-22. While these colorful personalities are the movie’s most interesting feature, they’re also severely off-putting. These people should be very familiar to most any viewer. They are the snobby professor or co-worker, too in love with their own intellect to regard anyone outside their tight, personal bubble worthy of respect or even the slightest consideration. The irony, of course, is that these smart people are pretty dumb when it comes to associating with their fellow man. As you’d expect, the film is about these miserable jerks getting over themselves and moving past their own hang-ups.
But instead of showing the entire arc of change, Smart People focuses on the events that inspire that change. That’s not a criticism, mind you—it’s one of the few elements of this film that distinguishes it from any other quirky narrative. Although it’s traditional for a movie to show a character mess up, learn from his mistakes, and change all in the span of two hours, that kind of growth isn’t realistic. For people so steeped in their own misery, changes would only take effect very slowly. To the movie’s credit, it highlights the characters’ emotional journey leading up to the change—which is honestly the most important part of the story—and only touches on the final outcome.
The problem with this structure is that viewers have to spend nearly the entire movie trying to sympathize with people who are inherently unlikable. It is apparently very hip to be mean nowadays, because I see these types of characters cropping up more and more lately. Call me a traditionalist, but I have a hard time caring about people who work so hard to make me loathe them. By the time they show the capacity to behave like decent human beings, I’ve long-since given up on them. While that may fit into the more realistic slice-of-life the film is going for, it may be a case where realism isn’t the best way to engage the audience.
With character playing such an important role in this movie, the burden really falls on the actors to pull it off. Smart People’s cast is very strong, but filled with performers rehashing roles they’ve played before. Dennis Quaid gets off the hook, simply because he’s proven to be so versatile over the years that it’s all but impossible to pigeon-hole him into one type of role. His Lawrence Weatherby is the perfect curmudgeon—he walks, talks, dresses, and in every way carries himself like the quintessential college professor. He is simultaneously slovenly and aloof. Offering up a counterpoint is his adopted brother Chuck—Thomas Hayden Church playing the dim-witted yet sage character he has brought to life so many times before. Ellen Page has already managed to typecast herself, for her portrayal of Lawrence’s intelligent, snarky daughter is essentially Juno-light, right down to her infatuation with an older man. I’d like to see more from this young talent, but if this is the role she’s determined to be known for, at least she plays it well. Sarah Jessica Parker and Ashton Holmes round things out as the love interest and estranged son, each turning in serviceable but unspectacular performances. The principle cast is small, which serves the tight-knit narrative well. It’s just a shame the actors aren’t stretching themselves farther.
The 411: Smart People is clever, but ultimately just another, mediocre entry in the “quirky dysfunctional family” genre that is enjoying such popularity lately. It lacks the humor of Napoleon Dynamite, the heart of Little Miss Sunshine, and the bite of Juno. It experiments with a slightly different narrative arc, which is commendable for its innovation, but risks leaving the audience behind with no characters worthy of our sympathy.
