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Clarence Tsui

Smart People
Starring: Dennis Quaid,  Ellen Page,  Thomas Haden Church,  Sarah Jessica Parker
Director: Noam Murro
The film:  Director Noam Murro's Smart People certainly bears  similarities with that trend-setter from  2006, Little Miss Sunshine.   There's an obnoxious patriarch,  a walking-failure of an uncle, a zealous daughter  and a son forced to  channel his frustrations into   other pursuits.
There's also the all-important message that underpins the  film - that love and understanding  will restore  broken family bonds.   Smart People has its moments,  and provides   an interesting lineup of characters performed by a solid cast.
Dennis Quaid, bearded and plump, plays Lawrence Wetherhold, a misanthropic, widowed literature professor whose arrogance and inability (or unwillingness) to communicate is manifested in his   inarticulate  babble. Ellen Page  plays Vanessa, Lawrence's stuck-up  daughter who's more interested in studying for her SAT test than visiting her father in hospital.
Ashton Holmes plays James, her university student brother who shuns  the family, opting for dorm life and poetry.
And then Thomas Haden Church (left with Page) as Chuck, Lawrence's adopted brother whose dishevelled appearance  belies his standing as the most mentally well-adjusted Wetherhold.
Making his feature film debut,  Murro shows a steady hand in pushing the narrative forward, allowing the  story to slowly unravel - even the  affair between Lawrence and his former student Janet (Sarah Jessica Parker) isn't rushed.
Much is down to Mark Jude Poirier's  screenplay, which leaves enough space for its protagonists to  act out their wars of words.
But there's a flip-side  to the slow pace - there's simply not enough  meat to the story. The witty verbal sniping  conceals the lack of  a real narrative. Murro's visual panache is refreshing and some of the  scenes are captivating - for example, the exchanges between Chuck and Vanessa, whose icy  facade  slowly cracks as her desire for her  'uncle' emerges. But  somehow the  story seems half-baked -  a shame given  the   comic dialogue and charismatic performances.
The extras: Alongside the feature-length commentary (with Murro and  Poirier) and a mini talking-heads featurette,  there's a gag reel and deleted scenes.
A 'hidden feature'   includes  footage from the film's premiere  at Sundance, with  Haden Church's   stand-up stage appearance the highlight.
The verdict: A great showcase of acting and wonderful atmospherics, Smart People could  have been more entertaining with an effective storyline.



Smart People