SMART PEOPLE
Rated R
Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page

Brian's Rating

The casting of Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker and Ellen Page would seem to suggest that there are some smart people behind the scenes of Smart People, now on DVD.

Family dramas often strain to put the fun back in dysfunctional, but without a hint of restraint, Smart People shows us this family's profound ineptitude at managing personal relationships. You would think that an academically elitist dad, an adopted down-and-out brother, an overachieving teenage daughter, and a sultry physician carrying a torch would give the writers plenty to work with, but all we get is dialogue peppered with an admittedly impressive assortment of quips, barbs and comebacks. I kept waiting for the story to take shape, but it never really happened.

Let's call Smart People a decent effort that stops just short of takeoff.