Smart People (2008)

Director:

Noam Murro

Writer (WGA):

Mark Poirier (written by)

Release Date:

11 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes the smartest people have the most to learn

Plot:

Into the life of a widowed professor comes a new love and an unexpected visit from his adopted brother.

Plot Keywords:

Self Absorbed | Carnegie Mellon | Bar | Family | Infant

Cast

Dennis Quaid	...	Lawrence Wetherhold
Sarah Jessica Parker	...	Janet Hartigan
Thomas Haden Church	...	Chuck Wetherhold
Ellen Page	...	Vanessa Wetherhold
Ashton Holmes	...	James Wetherhold
Christine Lahti	...	Nancy
Camille Mana	...	Missy
David Denman	...	William
Don Wadsworth	...	Hadley
Robert Haley	...	Roth
Patrick Sebes	...	Curtis
Kevin James Doyle	...	Rodney
Paul Huber	...	Ben
Iva Jean Saraceni	...	Volunteer
Richard John Walters	...	Parking Lot Attendant
Scott A. Martin	...	Weller
Jane Mowder	...	Knight
Adam Kroloff	...	Talbot
Patrick Jordan	...	Waiter
Amanda Jane Cooper	...	Brooke
Kiley Caughey	...	Linsey
Christy Harst	...	Waitress
Rick Warner	...	Bloomberg
Barret Hackney	...	Joseph
José A. Rivas	...	Student
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Zilda Alvez	...	Bar patron (uncredited)
Aaron Bernard	...	Pool Shark (uncredited)
William Kania	...	Man at Luggage Pick-up (uncredited)
Benjamin Jeran McGinn	...	Student (uncredited)

Directed by
Noam Murro

Writing credits (WGA)
Mark Poirier		(written by) (as Mark Jude Poirier)

Produced by
Omar Amanat	....	executive producer
Steffen Aumueller	....	executive producer
Bill Block	....	executive producer
Claus Clausen	....	co-producer
Michael Costigan	....	producer
Marina Grasic	....	executive producer
Paul Hanson	....	executive producer
Bridget Johnson	....	producer
Michael London	....	producer
Kenneth Orkin	....	executive producer
Bruna Papandrea	....	producer
Jennifer Roth	....	executive producer
Edward Rugoff	....	executive producer
Glenn M. Stewart	....	co-producer
John Woldenberg	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Nuno Bettencourt

Cinematography by
Toby Irwin

Film Editing by
Robert Frazen
Yana Gorskaya

Casting by
Deborah Aquila
Jennifer L. Smith		(as Jennifer Smith)
Mary Tricia Wood		(as Tricia Wood)

Production Design by
Patti Podesta

Art Direction by
Ron Mason

Set Decoration by
Teresa Visinare

Costume Design by
Amy Westcott

Makeup Department
Judy Chin	....	makeup department head
Mandy Lyons	....	hair department head
Cammi Upton	....	makeup production assistant
Teresa Valenzuela	....	wig maker

Production Management
Alexis Arnold	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lillian Awa	....	second second assistant director
Richard Graves	....	first assistant director
Eric Sherman	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Kimberlee Andrews	....	art department coordinator
Paul Bucciarelli	....	on-set dresser
Robert Buncher	....	set dresser
Thomas J. Garrigan	....	assistant property master
Smith Harper Hutchings	....	buyer
Smith Harper Hutchings	....	set dresser
Jonathan Joseph	....	art department intern
Merissa Lombardo	....	assistant art director
Lauri Mancuso	....	scenic painter
Mary O'Brien	....	scenic artist
Barbie Pastorik	....	buyer
Justin Pelissero	....	set dresser
Buster Pile	....	construction coordinator
Michael Sabo	....	property master

Sound Department
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist
Patrick Cyccone Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jim Emswiller	....	sound mixer
Alan Freedman	....	adr mixer
Sandy Gendler	....	supervising sound editor
Robert Getty	....	dialogue editor
Danielle Ghent	....	dialogue editor
Jon Johnson	....	sound editor
Pamela Kahn	....	foley artist
Ronald Kelly	....	assistant sound editor
Derek Marcil	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jared Seidman	....	adr recordist
Brian Slack	....	adr mixer
Lucy Sustar	....	foley mixer

Special Effects by
Jim Heastings	....	special effects

Stunts
Matt Baker	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Bruce Birmelin	....	still photographer
Jarrett Buba	....	electrician
Matthew Bulleri	....	additional grip
Terrence C. Burke	....	camera operator
Bart Flaherty	....	key grip
Matthew J. Fridg	....	electrician
Brad Garris	....	grip
David 'Yoko' Jose	....	grip
Sean Murray	....	additional set electrician
Jean-Pierre Nutini	....	electrician
Brian S. Osmond	....	additional camera operator
Brian Powers	....	electrician
Terry Shirk	....	electrician
Doug Stanczak	....	video assist operator
Tonja Thomas	....	camera loader (as Tonja Greenfield)

Casting Department
Donna M. Belajac	....	casting: Pittsburgh
Samantha Finkler	....	casting associate
Melissa Mittereder	....	casting assistant
Melissa Mittereder	....	extras casting assistant
Amy Monroe	....	local casting assistant
Nancy Mosser	....	extras casting director
Katie Shenot	....	extras casting associate
Erin Toner	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Steffany Bernstein	....	costume supervisor
Roemehl Hawkins	....	assistant costume designer
Andrew Huntley II	....	wardrobe intern
Brigitta Romanov	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Kenny Becker	....	color timer
Doug Delaney	....	digital intermediate colorist
Matthew W. Johnson	....	digital intermediate editor
Stuart Sperling	....	first assistant editor: avid
David Townsend	....	post-production coordinator
Benjamin Wiser	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Bryan Clements	....	scoring crew
Mark Eshelman	....	scoring crew
Charles Martin Inouye	....	music editor
Steve Juliani	....	music preparation
Todd Kasow	....	music editor
Bryan Lawson	....	music editor
Greg Loskorn	....	scoring technician
Adam Michalak	....	score recordist
Peter Rotter	....	music contractor
Peter Rotter	....	orchestra contractor
Michael Stern	....	music scoring mixer
Sam Zeines	....	assistant music editor

Transportation Department
Marc Scott	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Teddy Au	....	key production accountant
Cassandra Barbour	....	rights and clearances
Elizabeth A. Bergman	....	post-production accountant
Craig T. Brown	....	production assistant
Joshua M. Dragotta	....	location scout
David Farr	....	first assistant accountant
Juliana Farrell	....	production executive
Gregory Felmley	....	assistant location manager
Will Greenfield	....	assistant production coordinator
Paula Gregg	....	key craft service
Alex Hamilton	....	assistant location manager
Beau Holden	....	assistant: Dennis Quaid
Bill Hooton	....	production assistant
Steve Jacks	....	production office intern
Gina Kelly	....	payroll accountant
Kati Lightholder	....	accounting clerk
James A. Mahathey	....	location scout
Matthew M. McCloskey	....	location assistant
Kathy McCurdy	....	location manager
Benjamin Jeran McGinn	....	stand-in
Dominic Mecchia	....	set production assistant
Julie Moffa	....	craft service
Susan Moran	....	stand-in
Walter E. Myal	....	production assistant
Lauren Newhouse	....	set production assistant
Adam Nietupski	....	production office intern
Guillaume Renberg	....	remote head technician
Vicki Dee Rock	....	production executive
Anthony Rossi III	....	production coordinator
Bob Ruefle	....	location assistant
Laura Sevier	....	rights and clearances
Colby Shrefler	....	assistant location manager
Raffi Simonian	....	title designer
Mary Beth Spears	....	key medic
Sharon Steinhauser	....	business and legal affairs
Kylie Straub	....	production assistant
Marie Tang	....	assistant: Bridget Johnson
Tara Tortorello	....	assistant to director
Cristina Weigmann	....	script supervisor
Dana Wilkey	....	product placement

Production Companies

• Grosvenor Park Productions
• Groundswell Productions
• QED International
• Scheherazade
• Sherazade Film Development
• Visitor Pictures

Distributors

• Blue Sky Media (2008) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Miramax Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Top Film (2008) (Russia) (all media)

Other Companies

• Entertainment Clearances  rights and clearances
• Media Distributors Film Source  Fuji film provided by
• Nau  main title design
• Pivotal Post  Avid editing equipment provided by

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | USA:R (certificate #43519) | UK:15 | Australia:M | Ireland:15A | Canada:G (Québec)

Filming Locations:

Allegheny General Hospital - 320 East North Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Grosvenor Park Productions

Trivia:

Rachel Weisz was originally cast opposite Dennis Quaid in this film, but she decided to leave the project. She was then replaced with Sarah Jessica Parker.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lawrence leaves the hotel room in New York, to meet with his publisher, he's walking down the hotel corridor carrying his tie and a champagne bottle in his hand, however he doesn't remove his tie or buy the champagne until after his meeting.

Quotes:

Lawrence Wetherhold: You're a giant toddler!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-04-12)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Nothing But Trouble

It was a gamble, but good film!

Smart People - Smart People had a 46% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it's far better than that. Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennie Quaid) is a "holier than thou" widowed professor you unfortunately meet once in awhile. He's the sort who's deeply invested in his subject but can neither make it accessible nor allow the students any time to discuss it. He's a brilliant asshole essentially. He meets a physician in a hospital after a head injury and begins to reevaluate his life and his happiness. He has a dead-beat brother-in-law (Thomas Haden Church who steals every scene he's in), a daughter (Ellen Page) who is a young Ann Coulter in the making, and a son (Ashton Holmes) to whom he never talks.

This film is quite funny! Page and Church were definitely the stand-outs, but I appreciated Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker, two actors who I rarely ever have liked. It deals with a couple familiar rom-com problems (pregnancy, the "other woman" thing), but the film never feels overly sentimental or cliché. It's satisfying watching Quaid's character get some richly deserved socks to the stomach once in awhile, but you're with him anyway by the end. The humor is a little on the biting cold side, which goes well with my tastes, maybe not with some. Smart People overstays it's welcome a bit near the end, but a good movie overall.

B.