Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

      View All
      Movies Tv shows Movie Trivia News Showtimes
      Watch trailer for Smart People

      Smart People

      2008, Romance/Comedy, 1h 34m

      151 Reviews 100,000+ Ratings

      What to know

      Critics Consensus

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

      You might also like

      See More
      Eat Pray Love poster image
      Eat Pray Love
      New York, I Love You poster image
      New York, I Love You
      The Time Traveler's Wife poster image
      The Time Traveler's Wife
      The Brothers Bloom poster image
      The Brothers Bloom
      Ghosts of Girlfriends Past poster image
      Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

      Where to watch

      Rent/buy Rent Rent/buy

      Rate And Review

      User image

      Verified

      • User image

        Super Reviewer

        Rate this movie

        Oof, that was Rotten.

        Meh, it passed the time.

        It’s good – I’d recommend it.

        Awesome!

        So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

        What did you think of the movie? (optional)



      • You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

      • User image

        Super Reviewer

        Step 2 of 2

        How did you buy your ticket?

        Let's get your review verified.

        • Fandango

        • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

        • Cinemark Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Regal Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Theater box office or somewhere else

        You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

      • User image

        Super Reviewer

        Rate this movie

        Oof, that was Rotten.

        Meh, it passed the time.

        It’s good – I’d recommend it.

        Awesome!

        So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

        What did you think of the movie? (optional)

      • How did you buy your ticket?

        • Fandango

        • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

        • Cinemark Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Regal Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Theater box office or somewhere else

      Movie Info

      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.

      • Rating: R (Brief Teen Drug Use|Brief Teen Alcohol Use|Language|Some Sexuality)

      • Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: Noam Murro

      • Producer: Bridget Johnson, Michael Costigan, Michael London, Bruna Papandrea

      • Writer: Mark Jude Poirier

      • Release Date (Theaters):  wide

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Box Office (Gross USA): $9.5M

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: Miramax Films

      • Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS

      • Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

      Cast & Crew

      News & Interviews for Smart People

      Critic Reviews for Smart People

      Audience Reviews for Smart People

      • Jun 09, 2016
        Smart people are not smart at all.
        Super Reviewer
      • Nov 20, 2013
        [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]
        Super Reviewer
      • Dec 10, 2010
        We don't really learn how intelligence has hurt the main character, but how emotional stupidity hurts everyone and the characters have to become smarter about it. There is only one character who is chronically afflicted. Dennis Quaid's performance makes the movie, even with one seduction scene that's written out of character. Ellen Page and Thomas Haden Church are meant to score points with their lines Juno-style, and sitcom-style, and they do. The subplot of her lonely infatuation with the adopted uncle goes bumpy as the uncle creates some distance, being a responsible adult, but starts withdrawing in the style of a child. (And more and more, the girl talks to him like she's a manipulative lech.) I don't know if the two characters' attitudes toward achievement and worldly acceptance are meant to average into some vision of real happiness and fulfillment. For some reason, we're supposed to love one loser unconditionally, no matter what he's doing to himself, and the other when she's not being imperious or meddlesome. The heart of this is a feel-good movie selling its affections, which are sincere, inside the packaging of a subgenre: the dry-toned observational suburban bourgeois drama, where characters wear tweed and have great bookshelves but are unable to find love and happiness ... The bright side of every such tragedy is that filmmakers are able to find a group of expensive actors for only 2 million dollars.
        Super Reviewer
      • Nov 16, 2010
        One of my favorite movies. This film is a refreshing take on the role of smart people in society, taking one broken family trying to rebuild itself after the loss of their mother/wife. Quiad plays an antisocial literature proffesor, whose daugther, played by Ellen Page, is following in his footsteps. Throw in a degenerate uncle and an attractive female counterpoint and this movie is a classic recipe for a decent movie. Funny, sad and eye opening I really do love this movie.
        Super Reviewer

      Movie & TV guides

      View All