Smart People

I was really looking forward to be able to see Ellen Page post-Juno movie and well, this is a smart written serious comedy that unfortunately tries to be a romantic comedy without success and there is one important thing missing for me: more Ellen Page in the screen as with the little screen time she has, she really steals the movie as well as Thomas Harden Church in some scenes. For me Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker had no chemistry and were totally miscast as lovers.

Basically the movie is about the social deficiencies that smart people have and is told via a family where the father is a pompous college professor (Quaid) that cares about nothing else but his miserable and unhappy self, his lonely and high achieving daughter (Page) that is his vivid image, his son that actually does not do much in the movie as he hardly sees his father and the sudden visit of his adopted and happy brother (Harden Church) that becomes the catalyst for all family interactions that includes the father falling for his doctor (Parker).

I could have enjoyed more the movie without the non-credible romance between the two adult lead characters or perhaps if two actors that could transmit chemistry to viewers played those roles. But in general the rest of the situations where the father is involved with his brother and daughter are engaging with smart written dialogue and interesting to watch.

Not a masterpiece but a must be seen only if you like Ellen Page performances (as I do) and if you like to hear and see some smart written dialogues. In the end the movie as a whole can be summarized as uneven, with some good and other not so good moments.

Enjoy.